USA voting patterns for 2016
Although originally coined by a citizen of flyover country1, the term has become a pejorative description of the interior states of the USA and is largely attributed to coastal and liberal Americans who – in more ways than one – are said to ‘look down’ on these lands and their peoples during their high altitude journeyings from one fashionable seaboard metropolis to another.
While other advanced democracies don’t share the US passion for air travel, the same complaints about political, financial and media elites forgetting and neglecting unfashionable communities are strong in European political discourse. Some pundits hope and think the so-called populism that has emerged from within flyover communities peaked in 2016 and is now in decline. We’ll see.
Regardless of whether populist parties win or lose elections every decent society should nonetheless worry at why so many people are willing to vote for parties and movements once considered beyond-the-pale. While Marine Le Pen did not win the French election she won the support of more than a third of the French people. President Macron may address the causes of their anger and anxiety but where do they go if he doesn’t, or can’t? Perhaps, out of the political process or, worse, to something more extreme? As we look almost inevitably to more waves of disruptive technological, demographic and economic change what can we learn from the political movements that champion those who often go unheard? What is good in them that we need to embrace and what might need to be defeated – electorally or with changes in public policy? And what reforms of media, education and changes to statistical measurement of the way we live can ensure the gaps in understanding between generations, geographies and income groups become smaller again?
Listening to ‘Unheard Peoples’
We start by defining the unheard, or at least under-heard, “populisms” carefully:
Blue-collar populism – the force behind the most well-known international populism remains woefully under examined. We will look at blue-collar, less-skilled voters throughout the West to see just how similar the expectations, frustrations, and lives of the people backing anti-migrant populist movements really are.
Leftist populism – In many countries, old leftist politics have re-emerged in new guises. We’ll look at these movements and the people behind them in places like Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Belgium. Kicking us off, I’m delighted that James Bloodworth will be producing an extended report from Spain for UnHerd.com in the autumn – focusing on Podemos voters.
Anti-corruption populism – Czechia, Italy, and Iceland have seen a rise in populisms that seem more focused on fighting corruption than on pushing an agenda. We’ll look at the people supporting these movements and see if perceived corruption in government give rise to a different form of populism than do economic shock or migration.
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SubscribeBring it on I say. God knows we are ready for a change from this shabby money grubbing shower in the EU; whatever it is or however it turns out.