Populism - Right, Left and Trump

Populism - Right, Left and Trump

You’d have to be living on Mars not to be aware of the continuing political polarization of the country.  Many people blame Trump’s election in 2016 as being responsible for this rift, and our cultural and political wars have taken on anti-Trump and “pro-Trump” characteristics.  Truth be told, left and right were in strong opposition long before Trump, and what Trump did was exacerbated the division by applying his own brand of populism, narcissism and crass NY real estate stamp on it.

Forgetting Trump, (hard to do because of our media), the two hard bound positions in politics and culture are, and have been, as follows:

Hard right – Unrelenting socially and fiscally conservative – lower taxes – smaller federal government - individual responsibility - America first – strongly patriotic/nationalistic  - strong borders with restricted immigration – evangelical Christian – religious, not secular - inerrancy of the bible on homosexuality and other ethical/moral issues - remnant undertones of racism, homophobia, misogyny – rural and generally less educated/sophisticated – opposed by preponderance of mainstream media and coastal elites.

Hard left – Democratic socialism bordering on communism – increased taxes and social amenities – social justice – identity politics – diversity – secular, non-religious – pro “black live matter” – pro “antifa” - open borders – illegal alien voting rights – minor voting rights - sanctuary cities – government responsibility for citizens’ welfare – government support for most societal and cultural activities – university speech restrictions – cry rooms – urban”elitist” - backed by preponderance of the mainstream media, Hollywood, comedic voices.

These are some of the extremes.  But these extremes are the starting points for more moderate views on both sides.  Gallup in 2017 estimates that American voters are 36% conservative, 25% liberal and 34% moderate.  http://news.gallup.com/poll/201152/conservative-liberal-gap-continues-narrow-tuesday.aspx.

So political hegemony in this mix in any election cycle depends on how many of the “moderates” or “independents” or “uncommitted” voters (in the swing states) a party can bring to their side.  Obama swung these voters left with his mellifluous rhetoric and ostensibly clean-cut message of peace and hope.  Trump swung them to the right with his showmanship, bluster, vulgarity and America first message.  Generally speaking there is only a relatively thin margin one way or the other in any given election cycle.

This brings us to Trump and his unremitting populism and nationalism.  Trump has become the symbolic conservative piñata for the liberal left and their mainstream media and Hollywood cohorts.  Opposition and “resistance” by the liberal left take the form of ad hominem attacks on Trump and his family and backers, rather than on the substance of executive and legislative efforts.  Trump’s response is straight from his megalomania and narcissism, but limited by the constitution – “I know what’s best, and will apply it”.  He is undoing Obama’s executive orders that never went to congress, both foreign and domestic.  He is applying his business acumen and “art of the deal” to international trade, Korea denuclearization and a raft of other issues, many times seemingly without the trappings of detailed government work, and with his Queens construction background bluster.

All to the howls of the liberal left and MSM, who consider Trump a dangerous, vulgar buffoon, and to the cheers of “middle America”, who considers this billionaire New York real estate mogul and media star, the champion of their economic, patriotic and religious values.  The right-left rift was acerbic enough without Trump, but it has become downright strident and sometimes violent.  Again, the roughly one third of uncommitted voters watch and wait and evaluate and draw their own conclusions at election time.

And we are becoming more tribal.  From identity politics on the left, which elevates societal groups to special privilege, to populism on the right, which fosters forms of exclusivity, our march toward tribalism continues. It mirrors Europe’s and the developed world’s similar political movement, such as Brexit, and right and left wing populism in many countries.  It seems that the honeymoon of the “new world order” is over, and humanity is once again looking inward toward nativism rather than accommodating and accepting unlimited outsiders in the form of immigrants. “Peace and love” seem subrogated to populism, nationalism and tribalism.

It does not take too close an examination of the past to analogize the deleterious nature of unrestrained populism.  The “our tribe first” mentality has resulted in the “isms” of the 19th and 20^th centuries encompassing totalitarian communism, fascism and nazism. One can only hope that the current populist phenomenon serves as a reset and reminder, once again, that humanity will not accept the professed theoretical altruism of the liberal/progressive movement. Some scope must be left for the innate self-sufficiency of human nature.

Ray Gruszecki

June 12, 2018