Economic inequality and the appeal of authoritarian populism

 

A considerable number of western democracies have seen a wave of populism that has not been witnessed since the end of the Second World War. This form of populism has taken on the characteristic of nationalism and a shift to the right by many of the populace in numerous nations, including the United States. The decades of political development that shifts towards the left have been eroded due to the rise of inequality in society that has created an environment where there is a lot of dissatisfaction on the part of the population towards the political establishment.[1] This has created an environment within which it is easier for what were once considered to be fringe ideas and political parties to take on center stage in a way that has not been seen in almost a century. The rise of populism and populist ideas in the modern world has created significant divisions in society, with most of those supporting them viewing them as a viable alternative to the current unequal conditions that are prevalent in society.[2] The appeal of authoritarian populism has therefore become a matter of concern in the western world because it shows the manner through which there are efforts to ensure that the political establishment listens to the people. This paper considers the rise of President Trump in the United States based on the significant inequality that has developed in the country. It shows the way that this individual was able, with his populist ideas, to create and influence a powerful political base among Americans that felt disenfranchised by the establishment.

Populism in this paper is a term that will be used to describe the way that politicians will often claim to represent the true will of the people over those of self-serving political elite. This is a term that can be used to describe the manner through which the populist leaderships over the last five years have been able to advance their agenda. The Brexit vote and the victory of Donald Trump in 2016 are pertinent examples of the way that this term can be applied, as seen through the way that the latter was able to ensure that he established a powerful support base among conservatives and some liberals which allowed him to be voted into office.[3] It is noteworthy that the case of President Trump has garnered more attention due to the fact that it was out of character of the American political establishment. Trump was able to defeat establishment candidates both within the Republican and Democratic parties in order to attain the presidency; a sign of the way that populism has essentially become a phenomenon that covers a wide range of contexts that appeal to the populace.

The rise in inequality has created an environment within which populism has become more appealing. In the United States, for example, there have been concerns over a diversity of issues that are believed to have caused the inequality that has become prevalent in society. Among these are developments in the modern world such as automation, globalization, and the financial crisis, which have spawned a transformation of labor markets while at the same time creating an environment within which there is widespread economic insecurity and dislocation.[4] This has made it extremely difficult for individuals without higher education as well as those that have specialized in specific jobs that have become redundant to seek a solution in avenues other than what that are used to. Furthermore, it is important to note that these issues have eroded the trust that individuals had in the political system, with those on the losing side opting to seek out populist leaders and political parties that offer solutions based on the breaking of the status quo. An example of this is the trade protectionism and nationalism that has made Trump widely popular; especially among working class white Americans.

The rise of populism in the United States has come about because of both economic and cultural factors. Both of these factors are major causes of inequality in society based on the idea of disenfranchisement. A consequence of this scenario is that it has allowed for the rise of Donald Trump during a time when a considerable part of the population, specifically the conservatives, were seen to be on the losing side based on the left-leaning policies that have been implemented by governments in the decades prior to Trump’s winning the presidency.[5] The conservative base that leans towards Trump is made up of individuals who believe that their interests have long been thwarted by the liberal political establishment to such an extent that they have essentially been neglected. These individuals believe that there is the need to make sure that there is the reversal of policies that are considered harmful to them through the advancement of economic and cultural protectionism. This is the reason why Trump’s campaign stances on the economy as well as immigration were so appealing.

The role of economic insecurity among Americans cannot be underestimated when considering the appeal of authoritarian populism and the rise of Donald Trump. Trump’s populist ideas were aimed at appealing to those individuals in American society who felt that they had lost their economic security due to the policies of the political establishment.[6] The belief that it was the failure of the government to ensure that their jobs were protected against corporations that undertook offshoring as well as uncontrolled immigration that made wages cheaper, is one that has fed the populist base and one that populist leaders often take advantage of as a means of advancing their own agendas. President Trump was able to appeal to his political base because of the promises that he made concerning the need to radically change the government policies of the United States and to put American first and make America great. The significance of his pronouncements is that it appealed to the nostalgic aspect of his support base because they believed that he would take America back to the era when there was greater equality in society.

Economic inequality is a concept that can be directly associated with the rise of populism. The idea of economic inequality is one that has essentially created significant divisions in society. This is based on the manner through which the increase in the number of individuals that feel disenfranchised at both the economic and cultural levels have ended up in a scenario where they feel the need to regain the power that they once had.[7] The appeal of Trumpism is therefore one that was brought about because of the belief that it would lead to a return to prosperity among Americans. Most Americans who have lost their jobs because of the establishment of globalization and automation have come to believe that the only way to regain the economic prosperity that they enjoyed is through regaining their jobs. The latter can only be undertaken through a total overhaul of the political establishment, which is believed to serve the individual and corporate interests over those of society. Trump’s appeal in this case is therefore one that can be considered to have come about because of his stance on the reversal of offshoring as well as the creation of jobs at the domestic level.

Populism in the 21^st century can be considered to have come about because of the desire to seek out alternative solutions to those presented by the political establishment. The appeal of Trumpism in this case can be seen through the way that it offered an alternative to the stance taken by the American establishment concerning how to tackle the economic inequality that has become prevalent in society because of globalization and the development of new technologies that have made human participation in some jobs redundant.[8] Economic factors were the primary reason behind the shift of the conservative base towards Trump because he is an individual that advanced the views of the people who felt that they had been left behind by the political establishment as it undertook its liberal agenda. The closure of numerous factories within the manufacturing industry in the United States and their offshoring to other countries where production costs were lesser had left many Americans out of work and the risk of such events taking place had created economic insecurity. Therefore, Trump’s declaration that he would reverse this trend made him the more appealing candidate since he was the only one that sought to bring about a complete overhaul of the political establishment’s economic priorities.[9] In this way, the populist vote in the United States was shaped and it allowed Trump to not only win the presidency, but also become the most dominant force in the Republican Party.

The attempt to explain Trump’s 2016 electoral victory is one that is tied to the economic inequality that has plagued the United States with the advent of globalization. A significant number of individuals within the population, as stated above, ended up becoming losers to globalization while others reaped significantly from it. Moreover, a considerable part of the basic products used in the United States were no longer being produced domestically and instead, there was the creation of an environment within which China accounted for a large share of the imports that came into the United States.[10] Consequently, Trump’s appeal can be considered to be one that promoted the advancement of the interests of those who had lost from globalization, which allowed him to win even those states that were previously considered to be staunchly Democrat. The adverse shock that came from the imports from China made it possible for Trump to gain the sympathy of the working class Americans who believed that he was willing to take on the unequal trade balance with China while at the same time repatriating American jobs. Thus, not only was he appealing through the populist perspective, but also from the nationalist one as well. Therefore, without the negative impact of globalization through the creation of economic inequality in the United States, it would have been extremely difficult for the populist stance of Donald Trump to be given credence.

Trump’s rise to the presidency came about because of the economic insecurity of voters. This followed a trend that came about following the 2008 financial crisis that saw a large number of individuals in society facing economic insecurity for the first time in their lives.[11] In the aftermath, many of these individuals shifted their political views to the right, essentially blaming the liberal establishment as well as globalization for the problems that they were facing. As a consequence, the political shift to the right came about because of the desire to weaken some of the global or international institutions that were seen as having been responsible for the financial crisis and the significant losses that came about as a result. Thus, while the overall support for populist of modest, the effect of economic insecurity in voting patterns favoring them cannot be underestimated because populist leaders and parties will often end up receiving what can be termed as protest votes. These circumstances allowed for the rise of Trump and provided him with the leverage that he needed to take over the Republican Party as well as dominate it throughout his term in office. Moreover, his stance on economic issues greatly appealed to his support base to such an extent that it ensured that the support was maintained as he undertook policies that were quite controversial, including unilaterally pulling out of international trade agreements.

Another aspect of the economic causes for the election of Trump is those involving immigration. This is a most salient issue for voters and parties that promote populist ideas. For a number of decades in the United States, there was the belief that migrant workers from Mexico that came to the country would often work for less wages that local workers; resulting in a scenario where there was a preference for migrant labor.[12] A consequence of this scenario is that there is widespread belief among many conservatives in the nation that migrant labor, especially illegal migration, is one of the biggest causes of the economic insecurity that is being experienced by parts of the American population. Therefore, it is important to ensure that there is the prevention of illegal migration as a means of allowing for greater access of jobs for locals since it is the migrants that take away these job opportunities. Trump’s appeal in this case came from his tough stance on immigration and the policies that he proposed to ensure that illegal immigration was curbed while at the same time promoting policies that discouraged immigration to the United States altogether. The latter can be considered pertinent to understanding the widespread support that this individual gained once he was established as the clear frontrunner in the Republican primaries. Not only was he seen as a force for change, but the change that he advocated for went against the way that the political establishment had become used to handling things.

However, it is essential to also consider that the rise of the appeal of populism came about because of long term structural and social changes. These changes, such as an increase in access to higher education, ethnic diversity, as well as urbanization created an environment where progressive cultural shifts were inevitable.[13] While this may have been the case, a significant number of individuals in society, especially those who had held economic and social dominance for a long time, lost the privileges that they had once taken for granted as their right. This might explain the considerable resentment towards progressive values amid the displacement of the traditional social values that they hold dear. There is resentment, especially among the white working class, towards the political establishment and the social actors that made these changes possible, with the result being that there is hostility towards what are termed as foreign influences that come with globalization and create a demographic and cultural threat. Therefore, the appeal of Trump’s populism can be considered to have come about because of the stance that he took towards immigration and the social and economic changes that had taken place in society. The conservatives saw in him a champion to advance their cause in a political climate that was increasingly hostile towards them.

It is noteworthy that the discussion above considers rise of populism embodied by President Trump in the United States based on the significant inequality that has developed in the country due to the social and economic changes that have taken place as a result of globalization. This form of populism came about because of the economic insecurities that came from such incidents as the financial crisis, offshoring, and globalization in general that created an environment within which a part of the population felt that it had been left behind. A consequence is that there was a turn to populism as a means of making sure that their voices were heard by the political establishment that had long neglected their opinions and had instead undertaken the promotion of their own selfish interests.

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[1] Vlastimil Havlík, "Technocratic Populism and Political Illiberalism in Central Europe," Problems of Post-Communism 66, no. 6 (2019): 369.

[2] Benjamin De Cleen, "Populism and Nationalism," (Oxford University Press Oxford, 2017), 342.

[3] Tom Vine, "Brexit, Trumpism and Paradox: Epistemological Lessons for the Critical Consensus," Organization 27, no. 3 (2020): 467.

[4] Philip Stephens, "Populism Is the True Legacy of the Global Financial Crisis," Financial Times 30 (2018).

[5] Thomas Rudolph, "Populist Anger, Donald Trump, and the 2016 Election," Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties  (2019): 2.

[6] Robert C Rowland, "The Populist and Nationalist Roots of Trump's Rhetoric," Rhetoric and Public Affairs 22, no. 3 (2019): 344.

[7] Richard Nunan and Mark C Navin, "Introduction: Conceptualizing Populism, Democracy, and Truth," in Democracy, Populism, and Truth (Springer, 2020), 1.

[8] Donald Moynihan and Alasdair Roberts, "Dysfunction by Design: Trumpism as Administrative Doctrine," Public Administration Review 81, no. 1 (2021): 153.

[9] Eliot A Cohen, "America's Long Goodbye: The Real Crisis of the Trump Era," Foreign Aff. 98 (2019): 138.

[10] Tao Liu and Wing Thye Woo, "Understanding the Us-China Trade War," China Economic Journal 11, no. 3 (2018): 338.

[11] Yotam Margalit, "Economic Insecurity and the Causes of Populism, Reconsidered," Journal of Economic Perspectives 33, no. 4 (2019): 152.

[12] Garrett Graddy-Lovelace, "Us Farm Policy as Fraught Populism: Tracing the Scalar Tensions of Nationalist Agricultural Governance," Annals of the American Association of Geographers 109, no. 2 (2019): 404-05.

[13] Dani Rodrik, "Why Does Globalization Fuel Populism? Economics, Culture, and the Rise of Right-Wing Populism," (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2020), 5.