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Populist vs Pragmatist - What's the difference?

populist | pragmatist |

As nouns the difference between populist and pragmatist

is that populist is a person who advocates democratic principles while pragmatist is one who acts in a practical or straightforward manner; one who is pragmatic; one who values practicality or pragmatism.

As an adjective populist

is democratic.

populist

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A person who advocates democratic principles
  • A politician who advocates specific policies just because they are popular
  • A person who advocates populism
  • * 2013 , Luke Harding and Uki Goni, Argentina urges UK to hand back Falklands and 'end colonialism'' (in ''The Guardian , 3 January 2013)[http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jan/02/argentina-britain-hand-back-falklands]
    • Critics suggest that Fernández, an unashamed populist and nationalist, is seeking to deflect attention from social disharmony at home.

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Democratic
  • (of a political policy) Put forward just because it would be popular
  • Of or pertaining to populism

    • Alternative forms

    * (Bosnia, Serbia ): (l)

    Noun

    • Declension

    {{sh-decl-noun , populist, populisti , populista, populista , populistu, populistima , populista, populiste , populiste, populisti , populistu, populistima , populistom, populistima }}

    pragmatist

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One who acts in a practical or straightforward manner; one who is pragmatic; one who values practicality or pragmatism.
    • A pragmatist would never plant such a messy tree, but I like its flowers.
  • One who acts in response to particular situations rather than upon abstract ideals; one who is willing to ignore their ideals to accomplish goals.
    • I'm not a thief, I am a pragmatist. I need this bread to feed my family.
    We cannot trust him not to lie for his own gain, he's an opportunist and a pragmatist.
  • One who belongs to the philosophic school of pragmatism; one who holds that the meaning of beliefs are the actions they entail, and that the truth of those beliefs consist in the actions they entail successfully leading a believer to their goals.
  • * 2007 , John Lachs and Robert Talisse, American Philosophy: An Encyclopedia , p. 310.
    • [S]ome pragmatists (such as William James) took a more pantheist or pandeist approach by rejecting views of God as separate from the world.

    Related terms

    * pragma * pragmatically * pragmatics * pragmatism ----