Trump, Farage, Patel and the rise of the 'left behinds'

I’m sure I’m one of the millions around the world watching the US election process with disbelief. More than once I’ve wondered if democracy is such a good idea! The quality of discourse seemed better in my school head boy election, but that’s another matter.

People link Donald Trump’s campaign to Nigel Farage’s Brexit movement, pointing out that supporters in both cases are those who’ve lost jobs and long for the glory days to return. They’ve taken great pains to point out that those supporters are the “silent majority,” or “those affected the most by globalization.” While there’s some truth to these arguments, as Bill Maher – one of my favourite US TV commentators – pointed out, the average Trump supporter earns an annual income of USD 70,000; well above the national average. So the argument that Trump supporters are those who’ve lost out in life goes out the window somewhat.

At this point, I’d like to bring in a little bit of Indian context. Last year, Hardik Patel - a leader of the Patidar community - shocked the country when he and his supporters asked the Gujarat government for reservations for the Patel community – arguably Gujarat’s most prosperous community. In Haryana, the Jats had a somewhat similar agitation with the same complaint that they’ve been losing out.

No doubt, all of the above groups have lost out to a certain extent, but I believe it’s more to do with others progressing while they’ve stagnated in comparison.

Higher castes, landowners (in India) and the white majority in the US are all used to being at the top of the food chain in their worlds. To see those who were supposed to be lower down the pecking order making progress – sometimes leapfrogging ahead of them – is just way too much to handle. The average American lifestyle was way, way ahead of the rest of the world, so much so that third world folk all tried to get a piece of it. Now that more and more of us have access to this lifestyle, those who have an edge are only slightly further ahead. This bothers the erstwhile front-runners, to the point of resenting those who are doing better.

It’s an uncanny resemblance – Mexicans don’t just mow lawns, they own businesses and work as corporate executives as well. The Biharis won't always till the land in Punjab. Their kids will compete with the rich landlord’s children, and that could simply be too much for many to handle. Just because I went to a premier business school doesn’t guarantee me anything beyond a decent launching pad. My kids are going to have to deal with “hungrier for success” kids from small town India and not just from upscale south Mumbai. The sooner they come to grips with that, the better.

Back to the US election and movements like these – I guess we’ll all just have to buckle up, grin and bear the ride!