Purity Trap Limits Left Populism

Progressive leaders who categorically exclude controversial allies (the 'purity trap') reduce their ability to form the cross‑class, cross‑identity coalitions that successful populist movements use to displace entrenched elites. The result is strong elite approval but limited mass political mobility and fewer paths to seize power in plural electorates. — This reframes debates about political purity as not just a moral or cultural issue but as a strategic constraint with electoral consequences for the Left.