Donald Trumps Victory is a Failure of Liberalism by TaraElla
Ever since Donald Trumps victory last year, progressives have been doing two things: mutually reassuring each other that were the sane people and Trump voters are the brainwashed people (who would soon wake up to the real Trump); and devising theories as to why Trump won and how to prevent it from happening again. The latter activity is much more constructive in my opinion: while the former is therapeutic, it distracts us from the reality that we have to face: Trump won because something went wrong, and if we dont fix it, history will repeat again, probably in worse forms. As to why Trump won: there have been many theories flying around: that people dont take feminism seriously, that people actually want some protectionism, that Hillary Clinton was seen as too establishment, that many voters are racist and would therefore love to see mass deportations, etc. All these theories are unsatisfying, however. They are superficial explanations of what we are seeing, and like the things people said in 2004 in the aftermath of the Bush victory, are likely to be either wrong or trivial in the whole scheme of things. But Donald Trumps victory represents something more fundamental.
Donald Trumps Victory is a Failure of Liberalism.
America never had a Trump before because it was, to a more or less extent, a liberal nation, with a liberal consensus. There was consensus that government power was limited, individual liberty was supreme, and by extension the arbitrary exercise of government power was unacceptable. But as America (and the rest of the West) had rapidly become less and less liberal in recent years, this consensus faded. Donald Trump won because liberalism failed. If liberalism had not failed, America would never have allowed Trump to win.
In truth, liberalism has been forgetting its roots for many years now.
https://medium.com/taraellas-liberal-conversation/donald-trumps-victory-is-a-failure-of-liberalism-d92ae2a2e6c3
OldSchoolLiberal
(23 posts)liberals should really think about, I think.
Eliot Rosewater
(31,121 posts)50 Shades Of Blue
(10,043 posts)Republicans stole it!
OldSchoolLiberal
(23 posts)but Trump is in the White House now, and we want him out by 2020. We need to think, and think wisely and rationally.
yallerdawg
(16,104 posts)THAT is what we should be thinking about!
50 Shades Of Blue
(10,043 posts)OldSchoolLiberal
(23 posts)was to argue for reviving liberalism, not blaming liberalism
50 Shades Of Blue
(10,043 posts)uppityperson
(115,679 posts)To put it bluntly, well duh. We do. We are.
FiveGoodMen
(20,018 posts)in any nation of decent people.
The fact that she won by such a relatively small margin means we're in real trouble.