Most Europeans can’t understand why Americans vote for Trump. He is a liar, misogynist and a narcissist. He lacks the charisma of a populist like Boris Johnson; his speeches are long, rambling, humourless and frankly boring. What then is his appeal? He wouldn’t stand a chance of being elected in Europe. Why then Is he so popular in America?
George Monbiot , writing in the Guardian thinks he has part of the answer https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/29/donald-trump-americans-us-culture-republican. He identifies Trump as the ‘king’ of those who display an ‘extrinsic’ personality, that is those that:
are strongly motivated by the prospect of individual reward and praise. They are more likely to objectify and exploit other people, to behave rudely and aggressively and to dismiss social and environmental impacts. They have little interest in cooperation or community. People with a strong set of extrinsic values are more likely to suffer from frustration, dissatisfaction, stress, anxiety, anger and compulsive behaviour.
But why would anyone want to follow someone like that? As with all populists his views chime with all those that feel threatened by those that are ‘not one of us’: often characterised as immigrants, homosexuals, those with a black skin and so on. But why is he a successful populist?
Monbiot believes the answer is tied up with the American dream – the belief that success is possible for anyone who works hard enough. It is this vision that drove the growth of the American economy for the past two centuries. However, the dream is souring. Inequality has increased massively in the last few decades. More and more wealth is becoming concentrated in the hands of the top 1% of the population. American society is now less mobile than most of Europe’s. Inherited wealth has frozen movement between classes; a new rich ‘aristocracy’ has been created. Those with wealthy parents go to better schools, better universities and have better access to the top jobs, leaving those from poor backgrounds with much less opportunity to be successful.
When people fail to reach their expected level of wealth, they naturally look for someone or something to blame. Trump blames the ‘deep state’ – a mythical conspiracy of left leaning people in education, government, the law, and the press. This resonates with people who are struggling and angry that the American Dream has passed them by. In former times the workers would have rounded on the factory bosses, but now in this dog-eat-dog society it is those who govern or administer who are seen as the enemies of the people. Most Europeans can’t understand why Americans vote for Trump. He is a liar, misogynist and a narcissist. He lacks the charisma of a populist like Boris Johnson; his speeches are long, rambling, humourless and frankly boring. What then is his appeal? He wouldn’t stand a chance of being elected in Europe. Why then Is he so popular in America?
George Monbiot , writing in the Guardian thinks he has part of the answer https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/29/donald-trump-americans-us-culture-republican. He identifies Trump as the ‘king’ of those who display an ‘extrinsic’ personality, that is those that:
are strongly motivated by the prospect of individual reward and praise. They are more likely to objectify and exploit other people, to behave rudely and aggressively and to dismiss social and environmental impacts. They have little interest in cooperation or community. People with a strong set of extrinsic values are more likely to suffer from frustration, dissatisfaction, stress, anxiety, anger and compulsive behaviour.
But why would anyone want to follow someone like that? As with all populists his views chime with all those that feel threatened by those that are ‘not one of us’: often characterised as immigrants, homosexuals, those with a black skin and so on. But why is he a successful populist?
Monbiot believes the answer is tied up with the American dream – the belief that success is possible for anyone who works hard enough. It is this vision that drove the growth of the American economy for the past two centuries. However, the dream is souring. Inequality has increased massively in the last few decades. More and more wealth is becoming concentrated in the hands of the top 1% of the population. American society is now less mobile than most of Europe’s. Inherited wealth has frozen movement between classes; a new rich ‘aristocracy’ has been created. Those with wealthy parents go to better schools, better universities and have better access to the top jobs, leaving those from poor backgrounds with much less opportunity to be successful.
When people fail to reach their expected level of wealth, they naturally look for someone or something to blame. Trump blames the ‘deep state’ – a mythical conspiracy of left leaning people in education, government, the law, and the press. This resonates with people who are struggling and angry that the American Dream has passed them by. In former times the workers would have rounded on the factory bosses, but now in this dog-eat-dog society it is those who govern or administer who are seen as the enemies of the people. It is this mobilisation of anger against a common enemy of ‘them’, that is the secret of Trump’s appeal. The failure of the American Dream is the reason for Trump’s success.
Extrinsic behaviour is opposed to the principles of Eco-humanity. It will inevitably lead to more discord and conflict in society. Its popularity, as demonstrated by Trump, is threatening to us all.
