Together in the ordinary world: The alignment between populist discourse and lower-middle-class discourse on class and socioeconomic hierarchy

Abstract This paper contributes to the sociological study of populism by examining the alignment between meanings embedded in Czech populist discourse and those present in Czech lower-middle-class discourse on socioeconomic hierarchy and social class. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the study integrates political science conceptualizations of populism with the sociological framework of moral and cultural symbolic boundaries related to social class. Employing a qualitative methodology, the study draws on in-depth interviews with lower-middle-class citizens of the Czech Republic. The findings confirm the relevance of populist discourse's emphasis on morality in the construction of the people, elites, and enemies, as well as the strategic use of associated meanings—namely, ordinariness, honesty, hard and honest work, enterprisingness, and responsibility. The study concludes that the key meanings of populist discourse align with those found in Czech lower-middle-class discourse, suggesting the potential for cultural resonance between populist appeals and the worldviews of a lower-middle-class audience.