Crises and Popular Dissent by Mike O'Donnell

Author:Mike O'Donnell [O'Donnell, Mike]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Sociology, Social Theory, General, Political Science, Political Ideologies, Anarchism
ISBN: 9781800433649
Google: HJpCEAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
Published: 2021-09-30T02:58:48+00:00

This is an admittedly partial picture, and arguably Trump has had some successes, including in foreign policy. It is difficult to locate a ‘core Trump’ because he is so inconsistent and unpredictable. He appears a creature of impulse and confusion as much as deliberate malice but that does not make the effects of his behaviour any less chaotic and destructive. Yet in 2020 more people voted for Trump than for any other presidential candidate in US history, with one exception, Joe Biden. Among Trump's many manoeuvres in attempting to win the 2020 election, he accused Biden of acting illegally in trying to promote his son's interests with the Ukraine government. If pursued legally, this accusation should run its course. However, the image of Biden as a serious and coherent politician and consistently decent man seems genuine, qualities with enhanced appeal in the 2020 election given the reputation of the opposition. Striking among the key words that flashed in neon around Biden as he gave his acceptance speech were ‘science’, ‘truth’ and ‘hope’. The 2020 presidential election was about more than policies.

Trump in 2016 appeared to communicate in a way that chimed with what became his base but by 2020, although he retained much of his base the majority of voters had ‘rumbled’ him. In 2016, many middle-and-working-class individuals and families had undergone a long period of austerity whilst the wealthy elite escaped relatively unscathed. Resentment ran deep and Trump appeared to answer to it. Primarily a businessman and an entertainer for most of his adult life, he was the wrong man with the wrong answers. His response to the decline of traditional industry and accompanying job losses was economic expansion mainly through tax cuts. The stock market boomed. This was not enough; inequality and poverty can increase even as GDP does. Substantial reform to redirect and redistribute wealth is needed, policies on basic material standards of life and health established, and the quality of the environment and public space enhanced. Equally, radical democracy needs to be developed so that people acquire enough experience of political processes to make sound judgements in choosing their representatives and can take more responsibility in the areas that affect their lives. No socio-political system is fool proof and while fools are sometimes followed, so too are evil individuals. People need to be able to recognise both, as well as those that might feasibly assist in delivering social progress and stability.

What Trump importantly showed in coming to power in 2016 was that people's needs require a response that is meaningful to them. Like other populist leaders, Trump demonstrated that modern communications technology provides a potent means to achieve this. Trump's base will probably continue to press their case although hopefully without reflecting all the ways and means of their leader. However, a new progressive radicalism is growing, including within the Democratic Party, which may have the vision and moral reach to address the need for inclusion of disillusioned right populists as well as achieve their own goals in relation to the environment and global warming and social and racial justice.

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