In the winter issue of American Affairs, Nancy Fraser has a piece titled From Progressive Neoliberalism to Trump -and Beyond. In it she analyzes what she calls a "crisis of hegemony" as progressive neoliberalism, (think Reagan melting into Clinton) gives way to Trumps new America First populism.
Fraser argues that a new left-populism could win these voters back again with a truly progressive platform but one has to wonder about these voters who jump from Reagan to Clinton to Obama to Trump (and may have voted for Bush twice). If they are truly that clueless (and I believe they are), could they really be counted on to build a lasting, governing coalition? Won't they just sign on to the next dazzling grifter that promises them shiny toys? These are people who could never understand the article she wrote, or anything she has written. You would have to explain your platform through comic books. I think Fraser should face the difficult truth that American democracy if fatally broken and needs a total overhaul, not just realignment.
In the NY Times, Michelle Goldberg has a piece called No Wonder Young People Hate Capitalism. It is basically a thinly veiled warning that those in power are playing us too close, that if they don't wise up someone could lose their head. The case in point is of course the latest tax bill but if Goldberg were paying attention she might notice a few other areas where capitalism is failing, not just millenials, but the planet as a whole.
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