Left wing populism is based on policies for the greater good

The argument

Many policies that have historically not been part of political discussions are now mainstream. Because of the rise of populist politicians, other political groups have been forced to address these issues to stay relevant to voters. The rise of populism and populist ideals makes issues that are important to some, such as those in the populist party, come into the limelight where they had previously been ignored. This makes for more recognition of certain serious problems facing society, such as universal healthcare for the poor or disproportionate environmental problems affecting racial minorities. These problems are not dealt with until they receive the attention of populism.

Premises

Counter-arguments

Populist parties address issues that have traditionally been left off the political agenda because they do not have coherent views on key issues. Populism uses new issues to rally people behind them, but are not actually well equipped enough to address other issues. The fact that populism rests on one solution to multitudes of problems, shows that their policies are not complex enough to solve all the problems necessary to further the greater good. For example, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders suggests universal healthcare to help solve the issue of lower-class citizens possessing more health problems. However, by subscribing to this solution as a way to solve it, it does not account for the fact that those with less money cannot prevent health issues as easily. This shows that by providing a single simple solution to major problems, populism often ignores the underlying causes.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Agenda-setting is not specific to populism, or to its left variant. Single-issue campaigns, social movements, unions and think tanks all push neglected issues into mainstream politics, and the premise gives no reason to credit populism in particular. [Rejecting P2] The conclusion is far broader than the premises. That a movement raises worthwhile issues does not make the politics it produces healthy, and the question asks about populism as a style — usually characterised by an appeal to a unified people against a corrupt elite — which the argument never examines. It also generalises from congenial examples: the same agenda-setting mechanism operates in right-wing populism, whose issues the argument would presumably not endorse, and the counter-argument's objection about single simple solutions goes unanswered.