Trump supporters feel loss of privilege
- By Mitchell Blatt
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E-mail China.org.cn, September 18, 2015
It is true that many countries were comparatively poor before the Western powers arrived, but colonialism hampered their development. In some cases, occupying powers destroyed a country by waging war to hold onto power (e.g. the French in Vietnam).
It's taken a number of countries in Asia a long time to catch up, but it's now happening and that worries some Americans. China's GDP per capita (PPP), for example, grew 60-fold since 1980. Indonesia's GDP per capita more than doubled from 1990 to 2014. South Korea's has tripled.
This is good for the world. It enhances the lives of billions of people and creates a more even playing field. But some Americans see themselves as the victims of competition. This is especially true for unskilled Americans with low educations who cannot compete as easily on their own merits.
Trump's supporters are overwhelmingly less educated. A Washington Post-ABC News poll found Trump is favored by 32 percent of Republican voters without a college degree but only 8 percent of Republicans with a college degree. Trump's supporters are also overwhelmingly white; 82 percent of blacks and 81 percent of Hispanics view him unfavorably.
Under-educated white men have not fared well in recent decades. The average salary of a male high school graduate without a college degree was over $50,000 in 1971, but now it is just over $30,000. Women in this category have not suffered so badly.
Higher-educated workers do demand a higher wage because they are harder to find and are also able to add more value to a company with their knowledge. From the view of a meritocracy, they have earned it with the efforts they put into studying and getting that degree. That people can and should be able to get ahead has long been a stated view of many conservative Republicans, yet Trump's voters, according to polls, disagree.
In fact, one illuminating finding in the NBC News/SurveyMonkey poll conducted after the first Republican debate found Trump's mostly white supporters feel they have no way to get ahead.
Of course, they would never blame themselves for their own shortcomings. Rather, they seek to blame immigrants, foreigners and minorities. That's what provides the foundations for Trump's campaign – the rallying cry of the angry right rings loud.
The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/MitchellBlatt.htm
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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