The Patriot movement is a form of \u201cright-wing populism,\u201d a reaction to progressive social change by a group that sees itself as losing power, and challenges elites as well as minorities, both of which they see as unproductive, parasitic elements of society. While left-wing populists also challenge elites, right-wing populists instead seek to mobilize \u201cthe people\u201d through demonization and scapegoating, conspiracy theories, and apocalyptic narratives and millennial visions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They tap into a deep history of \u201cproducerist\u201d thinking in U.S. life. The protagonists in the producerist story are the people in a society whose work involves creating tangible things. The bad guys are both \u201cunproductive\u201d elites, who lord over the producers, and groups socially beneath them, who may be seen as \u201clazy, sinful, or subversive.\u201d(1)<\/sup><\/a>Chip Berlet and Matthew N. Lyons, Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort<\/em> (New York: Guilford Press, 2000), 6\u20137.<\/span><\/span>