I’m under the impression there are multiple factors behind the rise of right wing populism in the west (not just America).
[ul]
[li]Economic insecurity due to globalization[/li][li]Anger over rapid social progress (non-whites, women, gays, non-christians etc being admitted to the upper echelons of society)[/li][li]Fear of immigrants and ‘the other’, and fear that they will bring crime and non-western values with them[/li][/ul]
But that is just my impression. Has anyone written about the rise of right wing authoritarianism and right wing populism, and has anyone figured out an effective way to counteract it? It seems to be a growing issue all in western and eastern europe as well as north america.
My fear is that RWA (right wing authoritarianism) populism will just usher in an age of plutocracy. The rich and libertarians will play on people’s desires for security and cultural purity, and just use that to privatize their health systems, cut wages, increase income inequality, cut corporate regulations, etc. The right has been doing that successfully here in America for decades. Not just that, but I’m sure it’ll empower the worst aspects of culture (people brutalizing peaceful muslims, which will just make relations between christians and muslims worse).
Has anyone written fluently on its rise, or found ways to counteract it, or maybe triangulate to meet enough demands of people who would normally turn to RWA populism to keep them from going down that road?
Rick Perlstein has written a multivolume history on the rise of the conservative movement in America. The latest installment, “The Invisible Bridge,” about the ascent of Reagan, came out two years ago. I just finished reading it myself.
Even though the two had wildly different personalities and employed different tactics, it was interesting to see some of parallels between the rise of Reagan and the rise of Trump. They both had a reputation for playing fast and loose with the facts and not giving a shit when called on it. They both had a penchant for making statements and gaffes that would sink most other candidates. They were both treated as jokes when they started making noise about running for president.
Anyway, it’s a good place to start if you want to begin understanding how a guy like Trump managed to gain so much traction.
Wait about 2 months and there will be hundreds out there. Every political journalist and his dog is working against a deadline on such a book right now.
The tag line for the article is: The Democrats lost the white working class. The Republicans exploited it. Can Clinton win it back? And I guess now we know the answer is no.