The Trump mythology, white working class women, and neoliberalism

It is always puzzling when a group acts against their apparent interests. This is particularly true for mainstream economists dealing with apparently irrational behavior and Marxists economists in the face of apparent actions contrary to class interests. Such actions are attributed to error or lack of class-consciousness. But an institutional analysis can sometimes help tease out the cultural phenomena that explain instances of apparent actions against interests. One such case recently is the support for Donald Trump by white working class women. This story is one of the rise of neoliberalism (and the resulting disembedding of the economy and increase in alienation) and the accompanying increase in the uncertainty felt by all workers with the dismantling of the social gains acquired during the labor struggles of the 20th century. It involves the decline of labor unions and consequently their reduced relevance in the setting of wages. Of great importance is the decline of the family wage and the growth of two earner families. This is combined with old racial politics—especially the decline in white male working class privilege including the loss differential access to high wage/high benefit, unionized jobs in manufacturing sector. Gender politics and class relations especially the uneven fruit of greater equality exacerbated all of these factors for women along class lines. The weakening of the position of working class men in the labor force threatened the quality of life of single earner working families. Since many working class women had limited labor market opportunities, meaning being limited to low wage jobs or facing prohibitively high child care costs making it impossible for them to improve their family’s livelihood by entering the labor market. All of this occurring at the same time as neoliberal policies eliminated the existing social safety net. These factors, taken together, eliminated much of the security that marriage once provided for these working class women. When these factors are taken into account Trump’s proposals, in light of no other alternatives to continued neoliberal policies, provoked a misguided protective response in the Polanyian sense. This caused working class women to overlook Trump’s misogyny and embrace his anti-immigrant, racist, and authoritarian characteristics.