There is a series of opinions by women at the Guardian about Hillary Clinton entitled ‘the politics of humiliation’. If you are to say that sexism played a role in some voters’ minds (the extent is unknowable) it was clearly a humiliating loss for her and the Democrats.
However, it appears that a large segment of Midwestern voters feel that the economic policies of the past 8 years (and further back going back to Reagan) have been a long, humiliating grind downwards.
Certain history books will talk about how the economic humiliation foisted on the German people was part of what brought on Hitler. The economic humiliation of a decent sized segment of American society helped bring on Trump.
There is very little talk of what a cruel society American capitalism has built, choosing profits over livelihoods of people and communities. But that humiliation is what Trump tapped into and it made a rare public appearance on election night.
The right to profit is so deepy ingrained in the American psyche that I don’t expect any change. I could be wrong. But humiliation is two way street and those in charge would be smart not to see that in this election cycle.
