The Working Class Is Searching For An Alternative
Editors Note: This article is also posted on In Defense of Communism as Is The Working Class Right? The NWEB received the article on November 20 under the original title but approved this version through our editing process.
The 2024 US election shocked many around the world with Donald Trump's landslide victory. But his return should not be seen as an American phenomenon. In recent years, right-wing populist parties around the world have successfully attracted the support of the working class by advocating robust welfare states, albeit through a lens that is often chauvinist, nativist and ethno-nationalist.
This marks a significant shift from the 1980s and 1990s, when most ‘right’ populist groups promoted neoliberal agendas aimed at reducing public spending and expressed a general distaste for the welfare state. Currently, their campaign rhetoric has become more complex.
Macroeconomic indicators don't always tell the whole story when it comes to the success of the far right. It's probably more important to look at the combination of economic and socio-cultural factors. This can lead to the working class feeling that they're not respected or recognized. If there aren't strong progressive organizations, the working class feels helpless and unable to be heard. This is a particularly big problem in former socialist countries, where workers thought their situation would improve under capitalism. When their hopes weren't met, it was hard for them to express their discontent in an anti-capitalist way. Even though they see capitalism as a class-exploiting system, they don't have class-based ways of expressing their protests. The right fills this gap. Workers' support for right-wing politicians often seems like a way to draw attention to themselves.
“Donald Trump gave Rust Belt voters an opportunity to express their anger and frustration by taking revenge on a party that had turned its back on them. This anger and frustration were not only rooted in the physical decline of their communities and their deteriorating financial situation. They were also rooted in expectations inherited from the idea of white supremacy” – found Michael McQuarie in his studies of the working class.
In Austria, about 60 percent of workers supported the FPÖ in the 2017 elections, while in Sweden, about 27 percent supported the Sweden Democrats in 2022. Similarly, in Germany and France, the Alternative for Germany and the Rassemblement National have maintained steady levels of working class support in recent electoral contests. This June's European Parliament elections underscored the continued rise of right-wing populism in Europe.
The defeat of the Democrats ensured the discontent of the working class and social-oriented parties. This situation is also reflected in the mainstream democratic parties across the Atlantic. While it is true that some so-called left parties in Europe have recently won victories - most notably Keir Starmer's Labour Party in the United Kingdom and Lithuania's Social Democratic Party - these cases should be seen as exceptions rather than the norm.
Globally, bourgeois left parties find themselves largely sidelined in the current historical context. They seem perplexed about how to navigate a populist wave that remains powerful, as evidenced by Trump's electoral victory. Analysts point to various specific issues as fueling this upheaval: inflation, the rising cost of living, immigration, income inequality, identity politics, white male discontent, and the rapid pace of cultural and social change. While these factors were certainly present in the U.S. election, they are indicative of a more profound phenomenon: a backlash against the managerial approach favored by center-left parties, which often seems detached from the concerns of the populace and can come across as condescending. The traditional left has struggled to communicate effectively with its historic base, and its embrace of figures like Beyoncé and Lady Gaga has failed to resonate. Moreover, when working-class voters express their concerns, they are often met with derision. This was evident when US President Joe Biden appeared to dismiss Trump supporters as "trash," echoing Hillary Clinton's 2016 characterization of them as a "basket of deplorables”.
As right-wing political alternatives gain traction among working-class voters on both sides of the Atlantic, the trend should not be seen as irreversible. Once in power, right-wing policies often align with bourgeois parties that undermine workers' rights and weaken unions.
While a significant portion of the working-class voters see the GOP and Donald Trump as closer to implementing their interests, the president-elect is appointing his benefactors to positions in the emerging administration. And this points to an upcoming program of severe austerity measures targeting the poor and middle class. Incidentally, Elon Musk has openly admitted that such a program will lead to "hardship" and a "severe" economic downturn for many Americans, while the administration continues to provide financial benefits to the ultra-wealthy. It is not surprising, therefore, that the wealth of the world's ten richest individuals increased by $64 billion after Trump's victory, triggering a surge in the stock market in anticipation of financial incentives for the ruling capitalist class. With the election secured, Trump and his administration are no longer pretending to stand up for the American worker against the economic elite. Instead, they are openly collaborating with that elite to implement policies that will further impoverish the very voters who entrusted Trump with their hopes for economic recovery. The workers want Trump to emerge as their political alternative who will take care of "real blue-collar" Americans. But as we can see even on the stage of the forming new administration, the 47th president is just an element of his so-called “Deep State” system. And his well-planned show to demonstrate his fight against the 'corrupt elites' cannot disguise this. The GOP's attempt to rebrand itself as the "party of workers" was always going to be disingenuous, especially coming from a leader whose main legislative achievement in his first term was a substantial tax cut for the wealthy.
And now when the media is screaming about the working class “leaving the left parties for the right ones in search of a better life”, people should remember that the Republicans and Democrats are both bourgeois parties who represent their respective factions of the ruling class and compete for supremacy within the parameters of the capitalist state. Some people argue that these parties might have different styles, focuses, or rhetoric, but fundamentally, they maintain and protect the capitalist system. This division is often exploited by political entities to polarize the public, using cultural, social and economic issues to maintain a voter base. This polarization can distract from class-based solidarity, focusing instead on identity politics or nationalist sentiments.
The electoral strategies of both parties are designed to reinforce their control over political discourse and limit genuine competition. The two-party system creates an illusion of choice while ensuring that fundamental capitalist interests remain unchallenged. This system discourages third-party movements and alternative political expressions, effectively sidelining working-class interests.
The working class is not moving ‘to the right’, it’s just searching for an alternative. The current weakness of workers around the world is not a coincidence. It is rooted in capitalist globalization and the lack of a good response to it. It seems that the only way out is a fundamental reorientation that confronts right-wing nationalism not with left-wing nationalism, but with a genuinely internationalist approach. This is easier said than done.
Nathan Richardson of DAWN