27 upvotes, 2 direct replies (showing 2)
View submission: Trump and the Folklore of Capitalism
"Unfortunately, scholars often ignore national variations. But is it accidental that US populism is dominated not just by a political outsider but a *business executive*? As Simon Mollan and Beverley Geesin point out, Trump’s rise was motored by the 1990s reality television series *The Apprentice*, in which he portrayed a decisive business executive. Trump’s popularity built on his media-generated image as a hard-headed wheeler-and-dealer, adept at playing zero-sum games and thriving amid general economic decline. His skill at outsmarting bankers (by constantly renegotiating massive debts that keep his businesses afloat) has helped endear him to ordinary people burdened by personal debt but can only dream of getting loan “haircuts”.^(3))[1] Amid our debt-fueled capitalism, the “great little man” Trump functions as a collective projection and idealization: ordinary people empathize with his battle against creditors and, more generally, the so-called “global elite”, while fantasizing about throwing off their economic shackles and following his example."
Comment by breakwater at 22/01/2025 at 21:59 UTC
20 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Not to nitpick, but the show didn't come out until 2004. I remember season 1 and the reaction. He wasn't a republican at the time, I can't recall if he was still a democrat or had made an independent run for office while still aligning democrat. But people didn't look at him through the same partisan lense as he was really just a populist variation on Bill Clinton's politics at the time
Comment by SilverMedal4Life at 22/01/2025 at 22:03 UTC
7 upvotes, 1 direct replies
If that's genuinely how they see him, as some kind of champion against the system, then I wonder how often they wish they had a better champion.