“Make America Great Again” and Trump’s message of hope for millions of “mid class” Americans left behind by global capitalism is a story told by an unlikely associate, Karl Marx. Tump’s message to bring back jobs to a class of Americans echos one of Marx’s main criticisms of capitalism, that that wages would be held down by a “reserve army of industrial labor.” Tump’s solution? To curtain and limit global capitalism and bring back jobs. Trump’s message for the middle class struggle rest with canceling trade agreements and a promise not to forget the American worker. Protectionism and reduced global cooperation will deliver the economic salvation. This is socialism for the “proletariat” in in a form that Karl Marx might be proud of. Maybe Trump has read “Das Kapital”.
The conundrum is that Trump is a chameleon capitalist. He understood the American class conflict, offered the worn out American worker tired of living month to month for decades a socialist agenda (a protectionist economy) under the umbrella of a pro capitalist party. This is the brilliance of Trump election, not to mention the demonization of those nationalities that threaten the American worker (a familiar chapter in pre world war two history) . How Trump is going to reconcile his promise to the American people with tax cuts for the rich and national infrastructure expenditures that Obama could only dream about, could put American on a path of extreme debt and inflation.
No wonder Vladimir Putin was one of the first to call and congratulate Trump. In Putin’s world, a lesser America is a better America. The protectionist ills that plague Russia made Russia weak. Putin has seen this play out once before. Will Tump’s America make the same mistakes? Will his capitalism Republicans approve his agenda (the notable exception being tax cuts for the rich)?