What’s the matter with Benjamin O. Flower?

This article proposes a reconstructive understanding of Populism from the perspective of Boston reform editor Benjamin O. Flower, one of its main publicists. It purposes both to recapture the meaning of “Populism” as it was understood in the 1890s and to trace its fate at the beginning of the 20th c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jean-Louis Marin-Lamellet
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: European Association for American Studies 2013-09-01
Series:European Journal of American Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/10086
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1841558096372039680
author Jean-Louis Marin-Lamellet
author_facet Jean-Louis Marin-Lamellet
author_sort Jean-Louis Marin-Lamellet
collection DOAJ
description This article proposes a reconstructive understanding of Populism from the perspective of Boston reform editor Benjamin O. Flower, one of its main publicists. It purposes both to recapture the meaning of “Populism” as it was understood in the 1890s and to trace its fate at the beginning of the 20th century - the ambiguous evolution of Flower, from champion of radical reforms to anti-Catholic crusader at the end of his life, will be used as a case study to examine how and why Populism might overlap with paranoid-style politics. This paper argues that such intellectual trajectories as Flower’s should not be dismissed as the expression of populist psychopathology but can be best understood as the byproduct of ideological conflicts within Progressivism. Populism could then be considered as just one moment in the confrontation between the more radical antimonopoly strand of Progressivism and the managerial liberalism fostered by the more technocratic elements among Progressives.
format Article
id doaj-art-12ace46d9846433f9060978342b32f3d
institution Kabale University
issn 1991-9336
language English
publishDate 2013-09-01
publisher European Association for American Studies
record_format Article
series European Journal of American Studies
spelling doaj-art-12ace46d9846433f9060978342b32f3d2025-01-06T09:10:46ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362013-09-018110.4000/ejas.10086What’s the matter with Benjamin O. Flower?Jean-Louis Marin-LamelletThis article proposes a reconstructive understanding of Populism from the perspective of Boston reform editor Benjamin O. Flower, one of its main publicists. It purposes both to recapture the meaning of “Populism” as it was understood in the 1890s and to trace its fate at the beginning of the 20th century - the ambiguous evolution of Flower, from champion of radical reforms to anti-Catholic crusader at the end of his life, will be used as a case study to examine how and why Populism might overlap with paranoid-style politics. This paper argues that such intellectual trajectories as Flower’s should not be dismissed as the expression of populist psychopathology but can be best understood as the byproduct of ideological conflicts within Progressivism. Populism could then be considered as just one moment in the confrontation between the more radical antimonopoly strand of Progressivism and the managerial liberalism fostered by the more technocratic elements among Progressives.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/10086Benjamin Orange FlowerThe ArenaThe MenaceNational League for Medical FreedomFree Press Defense LeaguePopulism
spellingShingle Jean-Louis Marin-Lamellet
What’s the matter with Benjamin O. Flower?
European Journal of American Studies
Benjamin Orange Flower
The Arena
The Menace
National League for Medical Freedom
Free Press Defense League
Populism
title What’s the matter with Benjamin O. Flower?
title_full What’s the matter with Benjamin O. Flower?
title_fullStr What’s the matter with Benjamin O. Flower?
title_full_unstemmed What’s the matter with Benjamin O. Flower?
title_short What’s the matter with Benjamin O. Flower?
title_sort what s the matter with benjamin o flower
topic Benjamin Orange Flower
The Arena
The Menace
National League for Medical Freedom
Free Press Defense League
Populism
url https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/10086
work_keys_str_mv AT jeanlouismarinlamellet whatsthematterwithbenjaminoflower