Thursday, October 20, 2016

How Should We Respond To Trump Supporters?

Dani Rodrik is critical of the typical response by progressives to the problems perceived by voters who believe in Donald Trump.  Progressives, according to Rodrik, propose specific policies in response to the concerns of Trump supporters and they don't understand why that does not satisfy them.  Rodrik argues that Trump's supporters have been taught to believe that government is the problem and they don't trust government.  Rodrik claims that progressives have the more difficult problem of demonstrating that government is not corrupt and that it promotes their welfare.  Conservatives have sold them on an idea about government and it will take time for progressives to counter what has taken many years for conservatives to achieve.

Rodrik may correct in his analysis but Trump's supporters get most of their information from sources that are unfriendly to government.  They believe that the mainstream media and other sources of information, that even include scientists, are part of a broad based conspiracy against them. They don't even trust "establishment" Republicans.

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