Dr. Daniel Sutter: Populism and economic freedom

Brexit and Donald Trump’s election highlighted a global surge in populism. The Economic Freedom of North America Network, of which the Johnson Center is a member, has discussed conservative populists’ growing hostility to markets. Populists should, I hope, embrace free markets and limited government. We first need a definition of populism. Prior to 2016, left-wing groups opposed to the corporate world order were populists. Political scientists focus on hostility toward elites, which I will accept. New research in the 2023 Economic Freedom of the World report finds that populism, identified via