Have you ever travelled anywhere in the world and discussed with a local, even if only for a minute or two, their opinion of their government? If such a conversation has taken place in what traditionally called in the past, the “free world,” I doubt if you ever heard anyone say anything positive about their government. Of course, you do not get into that type of conversation in third world countries or those countries which are ruled by authoritarians; you may get some eye rolling, but those folks know the danger of being honest.
The nearly universal dislike, distrust or plain disgust with one’s government is seen everyday and the study connected to the link below from the U.K. reflects these strong feelings. The issues which drive many of those feelings are on the whole, relatively common across much of the world; uncontrolled immigration of people who do not share the common values of the new host nation, belief in governmental inefficiency and corruption in areas such as health care, welfare, rising crime (normally tied to mass immigration), a political class which has lost touch with the electorate, etc. Finally, as we have seen in France and the U.S, individuals who threaten the status quo are subject to politically motivated investigations and even barred from participating in elections for years.
All the while, the traditional elite political class seems unable or unwilling to look at let alone implement serious policies to answer any of their publics concerns. The result is the rise of the populist right of the center and the violence of the radical left, which in turn, pulls more from the center to one side or the other out of frustration and disgust.
Thanks to faster and poorly vetted information via the internet, the old days of both sides having the luxury of time to study, analyze and believing that time will cool tempers are long gone. Love him or hate him, President Trump is echoing FDR’s efforts to offer solutions to the problems of the day. FDR believed that doing something was better than doing nothing and while his policies created problems of their own, his actions created the impression of positive action. Trump hit the floor running with a full plate of targets and policies and thus far his opponents have not found an answer that appeals to the masses. Will a European version of Trump be found and withstand the slings and arrows of the European ruling class or will the European ruling class continue with the same tired policies which have led to today’s discontent among the masses. Time will tell, but the clock is running.
