[FRIAM] Globalism in the age of populism? .. & Open Source Software

[Marcus Daniels]

< The way you describe it, it sounds like "elites" is yet another aspect of "victimhood".  In order to be susceptible to the (purposefully vague) rhetoric, you have to feel like a victim.  And you might be especially ripe for the rhetoric if you have _not_ already identified your perpetrator.  This way, the demagogue can use the term "elites" and rely on a kind of "recursive explanation" trick to pass the buck down the inferential road. >

Many Trump voters, e.g. midwest blue collar folks, don't appear to want to present it as victimhood.   They came to expect a standard of living, but it was no longer sustainable given the evolution of the economy.    They want to believe it wasn't their failure, so if a demagogue provides them with a story that he knows the perpetrator and will crush them (a Mexican! An Elite!), then that's just perfect.  

< I listened to part of an interview with Frauke Petry this morning on NPR.  It strikes me that she has a very clear idea who the perpetrator(s) is(are).  It's difficult for me to believe someone like her would be susceptible to the rhetoric of someone like Trump or even a dilettante like Bannon.  So, do these (otherwise seemingly intelligent) people _also_ use the necessarily vague symbol "elites" in the same way?  Or are they more tightly/particularly bound? >

She's not susceptible, but she is looking for people that are.

Marcus