mikeyjh
Well-known member
What a lot of people have chosen to ignore, both here re Brexit and over the pond, now, is that the world is undergoing a change. For a very long time the ruling elite have got more powerful and less interested in the welfare of the people they represent. They have relied on the passivity of the electorate, who for years have been seduced into thinking micro rather than macro. The ' I'm alright, sod the rest of you attitude ' and as society has been encouraged to become more selfish, more self-orientated, so divisions have grown into chasms. Whole communities feel cut off from the centres of power. They feel a loss of identity and a loss of self-esteem and self-worth. Anger and frustration grow and eventually it boils over into a massive protest vote.
Those that are happy with their lot see no need to change anything. Keep voting in the same elite, Establishment figures and the dinner parties, the holidays, the public education, the private healthcare and the golf and tennis club memberships can just keep rolling on. Clinton was seen as the Establishment figure. Happy to furnish her own nest to the tune of £150m, whilst displaying all the arrogant signs of an untouchable elite. Trump's outspoken honesty, however controversial and devisive it appeared, appealed to more people than the sleazy status quo of Clinton.
There's a lot of truth in what you say but all that's happening hear is that the likes of Trump and Farage are tapping in to that disenfranchisement to further their own interests. It may be a different establishment and elite, but it's still the establishment and still the elite. So I agree with your analysis of how we've ended up at this point but if we truly wanted a break from self interested elitism, why are the likes Corbyn and Sanders not marching their way to power right now? All that's actually happening is the general dissatisfaction with the status quo and the version of capitalism we live is leading, sadly, with a lurch to the right and the persecution of foreigners.
History shows that this does not end well.