I've been thinking a lot about what motivates Trump supporters. Recently I happened to watch a BBC documentary about the lives of servants in 19th century Britain. A letter by a servant was quoted, saying that the man had a roof over his head, was well fed and otherwise kept safe, but that he lacked liberty, which he opined was the most important condition of life for an Englishman.
I found myself idly wondering what he meant by "liberty". Then later in the show it was pointed out that servants at that time worked something like 17 hour days and only had time left for sleep. So none of their time was available for self-directed activities, or for contemplation. That deficit of free time constituted their lack of liberty.
I then as usual started thinking about what motivated Trump voters, and realized that having to work two or more jobs just to pay the household bills meant they lacked liberty of that same kind. This explained their anger and their resentment of "the system", but how did that lead to their voting for Trump?
I concluded that Americans in an intolerable condition of wage slavery might feel the need to support a candidate who was angry and who seemed like he would shake the system to its foundations, in hopes that any shakeup was bound to put them in a better position -- having better than zero liberty at the end of the shakeup, they could hope.
Unfortunately their quest for liberty is often diverted into useless substitutes such as owning guns or refusing to wear a mask. That form of rebellion makes people temporarily feel powerful, but in the long run it does nothing to help them.
If Biden wins, Democrats should quickly offer plans to help these stuck working-class people. That is humanitarian and also politically smart.
I've been thinking a lot about what motivates Trump supporters. Recently I happened to watch a BBC documentary about the lives of servants in 19th century Britain. A letter by a servant was quoted, saying that the man had a roof over his head, was well fed and otherwise kept safe, but that he lacked liberty, which he opined was the most important condition of life for an Englishman.
I found myself idly wondering what he meant by "liberty". Then later in the show it was pointed out that servants at that time worked something like 17 hour days and only had time left for sleep. So none of their time was available for self-directed activities, or for contemplation. That deficit of free time constituted their lack of liberty.
I then as usual started thinking about what motivated Trump voters, and realized that having to work two or more jobs just to pay the household bills meant they lacked liberty of that same kind. This explained their anger and their resentment of "the system", but how did that lead to their voting for Trump?
I concluded that Americans in an intolerable condition of wage slavery might feel the need to support a candidate who was angry and who seemed like he would shake the system to its foundations, in hopes that any shakeup was bound to put them in a better position -- having better than zero liberty at the end of the shakeup, they could hope.
Unfortunately their quest for liberty is often diverted into useless substitutes such as owning guns or refusing to wear a mask. That form of rebellion makes people temporarily feel powerful, but in the long run it does nothing to help them.
If Biden wins, Democrats should quickly offer plans to help these stuck working-class people. That is humanitarian and also politically smart.
Jesus died for Donald Trump's sins...or maybe something else?
you go id