Far-right leaders are winning across the globe. Blaming ‘the economy’ or ‘the left-behinds’ won’t cut it | Richard Seymour
www.theguardian.com
The economy matters, but the likes of Trump succeed by offering voters revenge for problems both real and imagined, says author and Salvage founder Richard Seymour

Summary

Far-right leaders are gaining globally, with Trump’s victory in the US presidential election echoing trends in Hungary, India, and other countries.

Donald Trump’s 2024 victory marks a historic first where he won the U.S. popular vote, supported by diverse groups including young, Black, and Latino voters, as well as the working class—a reversal from previous elections.

This win aligns with global far-right gains, reflecting voter frustration with economic hardships and liberal policies.

Analysts argue that the far right’s appeal lies in its “politics of existential revenge,” which vilifies minority groups and offers imaginary disasters as scapegoats.

  • @Lasherz12
    2•1 month ago

    They definitely are low information voters. When people hear things they don’t like from people they do like, they always assume it’s not going to hurt them until it actually does. This might eventually work if they heard it enough, but they never will and don’t care enough to pursue the information on their own.

    In terms of the old white man thing, I think it’s fair to say that while people say they don’t want old people running, what they really mean is old people who aren’t all there. This should eliminate Trump, but he’s never seemed all there and he’s had a more shallow decline than Biden. Bernie doesn’t meet this qualification because he’s still as sharp as ever. Biden’s decline was shockingly fast and even turned liberals away despite his government still operating

    I did get the very strong vibe from undecided voters that they really wanted to vote for Trump but couldn’t tell anyone the reason was racism or sexism because they care too much about their image with liberals or their own self-image.

    That all being said, a trending search term on election day was, “Did Joe Biden drop out?” So clearly, the low information problem should be doing some heavy lifting in our conclusions.