What do Trump, Sanders, and
Brexit have in common?
(Brexit is not a breakfast cereal.) When capitalism is in crisis because of a disappearing middle class and unemployment/underemployment, the “dispossessed” turn against the “establishment.”
(Brexit is not a breakfast cereal.) When capitalism is in crisis because of a disappearing middle class and unemployment/underemployment, the “dispossessed” turn against the “establishment.”
Both major political parties
in England, “the establishment” didn’t want Britain to exit from the EU. But Brixit supporters capitalized upon
nationalistic, racist, anti-immigrant fears.
Coupled with the failure of EU capitalist elites to provide meaningful
work for millions of Brits (and the misplaced anger at immigrants who were not
the cause of severe economic troubles)
Brixit won.
In the U.S., millions of
unemployed/underemployed victims of globalization and capitalist finance and
their establishment political puppets find crazy Trump appealing because he
pretends to be anti-establishment, anti free trade deals, and one who can
provide jobs. Like Brixit leaders he
appeals to nationalistic, racist, and anti-immigrant fears.
And Bernie? He doesn’t appeal to nationalistic, racist
and anti-immigrant fears and offers anti-establishment solutions to America’s
economic crisis. He knows that globalism
has produced “winners,” the 1% here and in Europe and millions of “losers,”
here and over there. He knows that
capitalism is incompatible with democracy when there is a failure to have
proper income distribution. He was in the tradition of FDR who talked about
“the malefactors of great wealth.”
America had its chance, now
it will get Hillary, the lesser of two evils.
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