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Overview

It’s easy to dislike Trump and his populist rhetoric. However, he didn’t create the animosity that led to his election. Many people in America, Europe, and developing countries want change because they feel that political and economic elites don’t understand their concerns about globalization. If we continue to ignore these people’s needs for change, then there will be serious problems ahead for society and politics as a whole.

Globalism was supposed to bring economic growth, rising incomes and a new openness. But the world is not as it’s described in those books.

In the United States, a wave of popular discontent and anger at elites propelled Trump to power. He was able to do this because he spoke for people who were frustrated with their economic situation and government corruption. Similar situations are happening in Europe, where populist parties are gaining ground. In emerging economies, people struggling with economic inequality, government corruption and a dirty environment are increasingly frustrated by their circumstances.

Globalism has created winners and losers. The key points tell the story of how the losers are starting to make their voices heard. They’re angry, frustrated and divided, so they’re not going to stop anytime soon. Governments need to do something about it by rethinking tax policies and education in order to keep up with citizens’ needs.

Big Idea #1: Globalism has created economic winners and losers. The winners view themselves as superior to the losers, creating a “us vs. them” mentality.

For decades, Western leaders have promoted globalism by opening borders and allowing commerce to flow freely. Globalism makes economies more efficient by moving production and operations to parts of the world where labor is cheaper. This has helped people everywhere get wealthier – consumers in rich nations can buy goods for less money, while workers in developing nations can find new jobs. However, not everyone benefits from globalization; many Americans no longer have factory jobs because companies moved them overseas or simply automated them out of existence. Since 1979, the US has lost almost 40 percent of its factory jobs—a sign that middle-class incomes are declining as well.”

The impacts of globalism have led to dissatisfaction in the working and middle classes. This has led to populist movements, where politicians are blaming others for their problems. For example, a survey found that only 6 percent of Americans believe the state of the world is improving, while 4 percent think it’s getting worse in Britain and 3 percent in France. Populist politicians on both sides are using this frustration to get people on their side by pointing out who’s responsible for these problems—elites or immigrants.

You can see this “us vs. them” paradigm in the political left when politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexis Tsipras talk about big corporations, exploitative bankers and the political elite.

Trump was able to talk plainly to voters who were angry about jobs being lost and factories closing. Politicians in Washington, D.C., seemed to be doing fine while bankers in New York thrived and immigrants from Mexico found new opportunities.

Though French far-right populist Marine Le Pen didn’t win the French presidency in 2017, she ran a campaign that resembled Trump’s. She called for a “revolution” against open borders and immigrants taking jobs from the native population.

There’s a growing sense of us vs. them, especially in the political arena. This is largely due to people losing jobs and not having enough money to support their families. However, it’s also about culture and nationality. Let’s look at this more closely with an example from France: