Summer School 2026 – The Socialist Party of Great Britain Skip to content If ‘populism’ is taken to mean politics popular with the majority pitched against an elite minority, should socialists aim to make socialism ‘populist’? Certainly socialists work to make socialism popular globally with the majority, but without pandering to notions that would negate its revolutionary goal. This means being opposed to ideas that might attract wide support in the short term yet actively undermine the socialist case. Because ‘populism’ remains ill-defined, it gets applied to a right wing group such as Reform UK, or a left wing organisation like Your Party. In the USA, Donald Trump’s Republican Party can be termed ‘populist’ as might Bernie Sanders’ variety of leftism, and similar examples are found in Europe and elsewhere. Is ‘populism’ simply reformism repackaged for the 21st century? The Socialist Party’s weekend of talks and discussion will explore how the concept of ‘populism’ has developed, why it attracts support and what this tells us about capitalist society. Our venue is the University of Worcester, St John’s Campus , Henwick Grove, St John’s, Worcester, WR2 6AJ. Book full cost (including accommodation and meals Friday evening to Sunday afternoon) for £150 or at the concessionary rate of £80. E-mail enquiries to spgbschool@yahoo.co.uk Should / Could Socialism Be Populist? Populism is any political message that’s popular, regardless of merit or political orientation. Ideas become popular when they resonate with how people think. And just how do they think? In Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011), psychologist and Nobel prize-winning behavioural economist Daniel Kahneman identifies two modes of thought. System 1 is fast, heuristic and emotional. System 2 is slow, effortful, logical and dispassionate. In the whirl of everyday life, says Kahneman, people get by with System 1 thinking. But that’s highly vulnerable to manipulation by populist politicians. We generally explain the socialist case in the language of System 2 thinking, because we need people to understand it, not just react emotionally to it. Which gives us a problem. If socialism is ever to succeed, it must first become popular, and to do that, it must contend with System 1 thinking. People won’t listen to us if we don’t speak their language. Is a populist socialist approach possible? What would it even look like? Speaker: Paddy Shannon *** Details of other talks will be announced before the event Live Forum Topics Our 2026 local election campaign in London The Reformation and the Rise of the Nation State White House sends delegation to deliver war ultimatum to Cuba Artificial Intelligence and “Consciousness” Trump as president again? Review of the book ‘Make Capitalism History’ Capitalism´s future and Iran Russian Tensions April 2026 Socialist Standard No. 1460 Socialism or Your Money Back Blog George and the dragon Socialist Sonnet No. 232 Lose leaders Guns or Butter Today's take-away Africa’s Socialist Banner Africa: A Marxian Analysis Southern Africa - severe drought warning Kenya: Soaking the Poor Zimbabwe: Shock horror, government losing out on taxes. IMF still forcing austerity on Africans Mouvement Socialiste Mondial Les troubles en Iran (1980) L'Iran dans la ligne de mire Les principes du socialisme « Taxer les riches » ? « Un autre monde est possible » (1998) Movimento Socialista Mondiale Stranieri nel nostro mondo d'origine Violenza e guerra: sono inevitabili? Una visione a lungo termine Che cosa significa “post-scarsità”? “Il socialismo non può funzionare, i socialisti si dimenticano sempre della natura umana” Turismo cosmetico