ASSESSING THE POTENTIAL FOR AN ETHICAL POPULISM: THE MEDIA CAMPAIGNS OF THE NZEI TEACHER UNION
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2019-01-11
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Abstract
While commonly referred to in the pejorative register
due to its recent links with the far-right, the work of Ernesto
Laclau and his followers has sought to re-claim populism for
the progressive left. Rather than necessarily the site of an
irrational and reactionary politics, Laclau conceived populism
as an ‘articulatory logic’ which can potentially carry any
ideology. This paper argues, through a discussion of recent
media campaigns of the NZEI teacher union, that populism
is a potentially useful strategy for leftist educational activists.
Through clearly marking the boundaries between neoliberalism
and a progressive educational ethos, the logic brings together
teachers, parents and the wider public around shared cultural
values. While there are ethical issues associated with a strategy
which encourages simplification and the exclusion of an Other,
I argue that these concerns can be mitigated against through
the grounding of campaigns in widely shared ethical principles
and the provision of accessible online spaces. Further, there is
no ‘who’ which is excluded, but a ‘what’: a globally hegemonic
system which itself has inflicted much social harm.
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2019