He said Trump made racist and anti-women remarks

Prof. Michael Sandal: The Democrats arrogantly dealt with the working class

Michael Sandal: I'm not making excuses for Trump for the damage he's done to politics and society.

From the source

Harvard professor of philosophy, 67-year-old American professor Michael Sandal, spoke about why he criticized Democrats, and said in an interview with Spiegel magazine that it was the arrogance of the Democrats that made the working class and the uneducated elect President Donald Trump.

The following are excerpts from the transcript of the interview:

SPIEGEL: Professor Sandall, readers have used to the emergence of books on almost one topic of vilification and criticism of Trump, but your latest book, entitled "The Tyranny of Merit," focuses on Trump's Democratic opponents, and considers them responsible for the devastation of American society.

Sandal: One thing I have to make clear from the start is that I am not making excuses for Donald Trump for the damage he's done to American politics and society.

But my book tries to show how the Democratic Party and figures like former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary Hillary Clinton opened the door for him to do so.

SPIEGEL: You say the Democrats have defined a "success ethic," which has made their former voters turn against them, including the working class.

What's wrong with the idea of ​​their performance?

Their message has always been "Yes you can do it," which is part of the great American promise.

Sandal: Yes, it is true. The Democrats have repeated this promise in good faith, to show the people the way anyone could use it to get out of the inequality that has increased after globalization.

They focus on university education as a way to develop for the better.

But that ignores half of the people.

And now we have fierce competition for places in the best universities, for the best degrees.

The theory that says "your destiny is in your hands" is inspiring on the one hand, but on the other hand it is envious, especially for those who fail.

And Trump is taking advantage of that.

SPIEGEL: But the evolution of a kind of elite thinking mechanism that you describe is not limited to Democrats.

Sandal: That's right.

In the 1980s, former President Ronald Reagan and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher promoted free market and globalization.

In the nineties of the last century, Clinton reached the US presidency, and Tony Blair took over the leadership of the British government, and they all belong to the parties of the center-left.

But they accepted the principles of their conservative predecessors, that market mechanisms are the primary means of achieving public welfare.

Their belief in markets was more flexible than Reagan and Thatcher and they tried to reinforce a safety net for troubled markets, but they did not question the market principle itself.

SPIEGEL: What do they have to do?

Sandal: They have to show more humility.

SPIEGEL: Humility?

Sandal: Yes.

Remember Hillary Clinton, using the word "wretched," she used in the last election to describe Trump's working-class voters.

It shows arrogance towards the less educated.

Of course, entering Cambridge University requires a difficult examination, but some students enter it easily because they are from wealthy families and have many qualifications.

But other parents do not have enough money to support their children.

And when we realize this, we can develop a sense of humility.

SPIEGEL: If Trump followers feel offended by the elite, would it be unacceptable for them to see a black man ascend to the presidency or Hillary Clinton as a woman?

Sandal: Trump made racist and anti-women statements.

But it is important to remember that Barack Obama was elected twice, after which some Obama voters elected Trump.

Sexual prejudice was the reason behind Hillary Clinton's defeat, but also because of her association with elites who look down on the working class that Trump does not treat in the same way.

SPIEGEL: Why do you think Democrats are attached to the idea of ​​the elite?

Sandal: The Democratic Party has once stood against the farmers and the working class from obtaining concessions.

Electoral studies showed that the educated voted for Hillary Clinton, and the less educated voted for Trump.

SPIEGEL: We are several weeks away from US election day. What are the tasks facing the political class if Trump or his rival, Joe Biden, wins?

Sandal: If Trump wins, the primary challenge for politicians will be how to protect democratic norms and institutions in the face of threats posed by Trump.

If Joe Biden wins, the challenge will be how to heal the deep divisions in American society.

The Democratic Party stood one day against the farmers and the working class from obtaining concessions.

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