Populo

Populo is Avram’s substack where he publishes occasional reflections, policy proposals, or more abstract philosophical investigations about democracy, labor, U.S. politics or another topic of interest. Occasionally, these pieces will mention the “news of the day”, but with rare exceptions I aim to have this house more conceptual or systemic analyses.

“Populo” is a Latin word that is used in the phrases “by the people” and “for the people”. Most of us are familiar with these terms as part of the rhetorical flourish with which Avram’s indirect namesake, President Abraham Lincoln, closed the Gettysburg Address.1 “Populo”, conveniently, can refer to both the ideal of who rules in democracy and democracy’s promise which flows from the first ideal.