Below is the opening to an analysis of the presidential election penned by Naomi Klein. Printed in The Guardian, Klein's "It was the Democrats' embrace of neoliberalism that won it for Trump" tells us that market oriented policies since the 1980s (neoliberalism) - which were supported by Democrats like the Clinton's - helped wreck middle America. This has created economic insecurity, crushing debt loads, and fear within America's middle class.
This economic insecurity and fear, unfortunately, has come about at the same time that the lifestyles of our new class of high tech and Wall Street billionaires simply rub in the economic misery.
Whether or not you agree that market insecurity is the primary force behind Trump's electoral college victory, you can't dismiss Klein's argument
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They will blame James Comey and the FBI. They will blame voter suppression and racism. They will blame Bernie or bust and misogyny. They will blame third parties and independent candidates. They will blame the corporate media for giving him the platform, social media for being a bullhorn, and WikiLeaks for airing the laundry.
But this leaves out the force most responsible for creating the nightmare in which we now find ourselves wide awake: neoliberalism. That worldview – fully embodied by Hillary Clinton and her machine – is no match for Trump-style extremism. The decision to run one against the other is what sealed our fate. If we learn nothing else, can we please learn from that mistake?
Here is what we need to understand: a hell of a lot of people are in pain. Under neoliberal policies of deregulation, privatisation, austerity and corporate trade, their living standards have declined precipitously. They have lost jobs. They have lost pensions. They have lost much of the safety net that used to make these losses less frightening. They see a future for their kids even worse than their precarious present ...
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You can read the rest by clicking here.- Mark
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