Populism is a political logic – a way of thinking about politics – that divides society into two homogenous and antagonistic groups: “the pure people” and “the corrupt elite”. Although populism has actually meant different things in different times and in different situations, its main characteristic is that pits ‘the people’ against ‘the establishment. From Donald Trump in the US and Nigel Farage in the U.K. to Podemos in Spain and Syriza in Greece, populists emerged from the margins of the political sphere to challenge mainstream politicians, always in the name of the people, while scolding the “elites” as corrupt, and responsible for all ills.

Populism’s core claim, says Jan-Werner Müller, in this slim and important book, titled What is populism?, is the idea that populists are the only legitimate representatives of the people and that the will of the people is above all else. But according to populist logic only some of the people are actually the real, pure people who are deserving good government. Populism is thus, a moralised form of antipluralism.

Populism is a poison and a real danger to democracy. But that does not mean that one should not engage them in political debate. Isolation and zoning is not the answer. Perhaps the best way of dealing with populists is pragmatism. At the end of the day, even a populist must show results. Engage them in honest, public dialogue and propose solutions to the problems they seek to politicise. It takes time, it is laborious, but it is worth trying.