Dear reader, as I have said before, I did not vote for Donald Trump, nor did I ever support him. But after Trump's victory this week, which nearly every pollster, politico and pundit considered virtually impossible, and ludicrous to contemplate, I grew philosophical about the nature of populism and elitism.
Wikipedia describes Populism as: a political ideology that holds that virtuous citizens are mistreated by a small circle of elites, who can be overthrown if the people recognize the danger and work together. Populism depicts elites as trampling on the rights, values, and voice of the legitimate people.
Um, yeah. That feels about right. From time to time, when governments become hidebound and bureaucratic, run by a relatively small circle of elites (whether political, intellectual, economic, or media types), the rest of society begins to feel left out, ignored, disenfranchised, marginalized or whatever other descriptor you care to use. At some point, a collective sentiment begins to form and this forgotten segment of society wants to throw off the yoke of the elites and take back power.
Populism can come from the right or the left of the political spectrum, and this year we had both represented in the form of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. To me, that would have been the more interesting contest. Instead the left-leaning populists who followed Bernie didn't turn out for the candidate of the establishment elites: Hillary Clinton. And when she referred to Trump supporters as a "basket of deplorables", I think for many that was the epitome of elitism, and it's the point at which her fortunes began to fall.
Wikipedia refers to Elitism like this: Elitism is the belief or attitude that some individuals who form an elite—a select group of people with a certain ancestry, intrinsic quality or worth, high intellect, wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes—are those whose influence or authority is greater than that of others; whose views on a matter are to be taken more seriously or carry more weight; whose views or actions are more likely to be constructive to society as a whole; or whose extraordinary skills, abilities, or wisdom render them especially fit to govern.
Yup. Right again. The characteristic most central to members of the elite is that they honestly believe they know what is best for the rest of the people - that the rabble are ignorant and can't possibly direct their own affairs, much less society's, with anywhere near the efficiency and benificence that the elites can. That was Hillary in a nutshell; Hillary knows best. So do others of her class. The rabble knows nothing and must be properly guided for their own good.
Oops! The rabble rose up and threw out the elites this week. Poor, ungrateful ignorant wretches, these deplorables. Who do they think they are, the backward Colonials who threw off the rule of King George? The French peasants who repudiated the rule of Marie Antoinette and the ruling classes in Europe? Electing Donald Trump is simply proof to elitists that when left to their own devices the rabble make incredibly poor choices. Well, elites, just keep telling yourself that. Sit on the sidelines and criticize, while the rabble consolidates power. You're on the outside looking in now.
