Adam Labay
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Adam Labay
@adamlabay.net
430 followers 430 following 650 posts
Former educator. Current engineer. Mathematics badass.
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(parody) Al-Qaeda social account posts; "Farewell, Dick Cheney. We could never have ruined so much of the world, including the United States, without your help."
November 4, 2025 at 1:47 PM
adamlabay.net
Definition.—Building on the workhorse definition in political science, we define a leader as populist if he or she divides society into two artificial groups—“the people” versus “the elites”—and then claims to be the sole representative of the true people. Populists place the alleged struggle of the people (“us”) against the elites (“them”) at the center of their political campaign and governing style. More precisely, populists typically depict “the people” as a suffering, inherently good, virtuous, authentic, ordinary, and common majority, whose collective will is incarnated in the populist leader. By contrast, “the elite” is an inherently corrupt, self-serving, power-hoarding minority, negatively defined as all those who are not “the people.” This definition has several advantages: it can be applied across time and regions (e.g., in the 1940s in Latin America and in the 2010s in Europe), it does not depend on institutional features (e.g., presidential versus parliamentary systems), and it does not depend on the stage of economic or social development (it works for both emerging and advanced economies).
October 26, 2025 at 11:34 PM
adamlabay.net
According to today’s workhorse definition, populism is a political style centered on the supposed struggle of “people versus the establishment” (Mudde 2004). Populists place the narrative of “people versus elites” at the center of their political agenda and then claim to be the sole representative of “the people.” This definition has become increasingly dominant and is now also widely used by economists (see Section I and the recent survey paper by Guriev and Papaioannou 2020). Populist leaders claim to represent the “true, common people” against the dishonest “elites,” thereby separating society into two seemingly homogeneous and antagonistic groups.2 However, populist leaders should not be confused with autocrats. As we discuss below, populism and authoritarianism are distinct phenomena, with only few populists becoming full-fledged dictators.
October 26, 2025 at 11:33 PM
adamlabay.net
Good thing we can still make fun of her raccoon-eyed mugshot
October 7, 2025 at 10:27 PM
adamlabay.net
I'll accept it, but only if this artist is commissioned to make all of the statues.
September 21, 2025 at 3:01 PM
adamlabay.net
x.com/LBJLibrary/s...
September 19, 2025 at 1:11 AM
adamlabay.net
Live by gun culture, die by gun culture.
September 10, 2025 at 11:39 PM
adamlabay.net
Fair. LinkedIn Bad. But our poster is no hero. 3/4 of his posts have an AI angryface with the same pap that he's decrying. To wit:
August 11, 2025 at 12:01 AM
adamlabay.net
Ah my bad it was there the whole time
July 21, 2025 at 11:20 PM
adamlabay.net
just me?
July 8, 2025 at 6:31 PM
adamlabay.net
No amount of conflict can stop the cats.
June 14, 2025 at 7:35 PM
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These words may never have been spoken, but the votes - and their consequences - are real.
June 13, 2025 at 7:10 PM
adamlabay.net
May 29, 2025 at 1:48 AM
adamlabay.net
Fixed and credited @phil-hands.bsky.social for ya
Political cartoon by Phil Hands. Donald Trump scolds a child playing with 5 dolls that "you don't need so many dolls". She responds to Trump, exiting Air Force One as his Gift from Qatar jet lands, that he doesn't need so many planes.
May 15, 2025 at 11:35 PM
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April 17, 2025 at 1:55 PM
adamlabay.net
White hoods stain too easily
March 17, 2025 at 12:41 PM
adamlabay.net
Mexican VPN suggests it's still properly named
February 11, 2025 at 1:19 AM
adamlabay.net
Context:
February 8, 2025 at 12:15 AM
adamlabay.net
Now Elon's double sad
February 7, 2025 at 11:18 PM
adamlabay.net
Just ripping off our boy Turd Ferguson
SNL character Turd Ferguson, captioned with his line, "See, it's funny because it's bigger than a normal hat"
February 7, 2025 at 1:56 PM
adamlabay.net
Just change Ivanka's number, that'll ruin him
February 3, 2025 at 10:43 PM
adamlabay.net
But always cheekily, which somehow makes it worse.
February 2, 2025 at 11:43 PM
adamlabay.net
Please clap
February 1, 2025 at 1:35 AM
adamlabay.net
January 25, 2025 at 12:21 AM
adamlabay.net
Oh thank heavens it's not. Not that any of us would have been surprised.
January 24, 2025 at 4:55 PM