Branko Milanovic — Is liberalism to blame?

What went wrong? (Explaining "Trump.")

Must-read.

Some of the paradoxes of liberalism as they manifested in contemporary bourgeois liberalism that have led to the present context and its various conflict subtexts.

V. I. Lenin's famous question begs asking, "What is to be done?"

Global Inequality
Is liberalism to blame?
Branko Milanovic | Visiting Presidential Professor at City University of New York Graduate Center and senior scholar at the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS), and formerly lead economist in the World Bank's research department and senior associate at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

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Chris Dillow sees some of Trump's program and initial moves as at least soft fascism and incipient feudalism replacing capitalism.

While his analysis always insightful and informed, it is from the point of view of an outsider with respect to US politics. 

Just as the risk of socialism is totalitarian collectivism as manifested in Communism, so to the risk of capitalism as economic liberalism dominate over social and political liberalism is fascism based on corporate totalitarianism and plutocratic oligarchy as a form of feudalism.

From this perspective, the interaction that is manifesting is the logical progression of events discussed above by Branko Milanovic.

This elicited a reaction from the have-nots in America, who had nowhere else to turn but to a billionaire that was willing to represent their interests vis-à-vis the establishments of both parties. Again, this was a logical iteration based on the social and political structure being based on wealth as power.

What appears to be fascism to liberals is the expression of the will of the people that delivered the election to Trump, based on his political advisers reading of the mood of the electorate, chiefly Steve Bannon.

Donald Trump's challenge is to deliver on his promises to the people that delivered power to him, while also using that power to further his own interests and those of his cohort.

Liberals need to stop obsessing on Donald Trump and the people that put him in power and setting their own house in order. As Branko Milanovic observes, they created Donald Trump and they can only remove him successfully if they get their own houses in order by consecutive self-criticism rather than blame, admitting their mistakes and failures, and formulating and executing a new plan that corrects the mistakes and advances their game. 

Right now they are mostly wasting time flailing about and screaming "Hitler."

Stumbling and Mumbling
On soft commerce
Chris Dillow | Investors Chronicle