When people are seeking security, wanting to reverse recent changes in society such as those referred to in the previous sub-section (6.2.4.5), they sometimes retreat to the perceived safety and familiarity of their own cultural groups: a tribal instinct. They might focus on their race, their religion, or a sense that their national identity was threatened.
Minority ethnic groups might merely try to shut themselves off from the rest of society, but a dominant racial group might try to assert racial supremacy. Many white Americans believed that they were superior to black people, for example; as Isabel Wilkerson wrote, in her book Caste: the origins of our discontents, this sense of superiority was all that poor whites had to comfort them when they had lost their jobs and economic security. She quoted Lillian Smith:
“Nobody could take away from you this whiteness that made you and your way of life ‘superior,’” [PDF p. 167]
Both America’s mainstream parties had ignored the problems created by automation and globalisation. Sasha Abramsky’s article, Make America hate again, described how Donald Trump exploited feelings of insecurity in millions of Americans by demonising China, Mexicans and Muslims among others:
“This is truly the alt-right moment – the “alternative right” representing a populist, protectionist, racially tribalist counterpoint to the laissez-faire, small-government, plutocratic vision of more mainstream American conservatives – when white nationalism takes centre stage in US politics.”
Hillary Clinton depicted Trump supporters as a "basket of deplorables" during the 2016 American Presidential Election – but stigmatising them only strengthened their sense of identity and increased their opposition to everyone else, which is a familiar pattern in group behaviour (4.4.5.1).
Trump appointed Steve Bannon as his chief strategist. A Quartz article, What Steve Bannon really wants, listed Bannon’s values as “Capitalism, nationalism, and ‘Judeo-Christian values’”. He was described as The alt-right Leninist who boasted that he was using Trump as “a blunt instrument for us”. Bannon also promoted alt-right views across Europe[1] and he was closely connected[2] with Nigel Farage’s Leave.eu campaign for Brexit – which adopted Bannon’s alt-right tone and used Cambridge Analytica (a company jointly founded by Bannon) to target Facebook adverts in the Brexit campaign. The vote for Brexit is described later in this chapter (6.6.5.8).
Trump’s slogan, “Make America great again”, was nationalist. He has been accused of fascism, but that isn’t a label to be used lightly; when Robert Paxton, a leading authority on the history of fascism, was asked Is Donald Trump a Fascist?, he concluded that Trump's style was very reminiscent to that of Mussolini and his call to restore national pride was also similar, but he was promoting an American sense of individual self-reliance rather than demanding complete submission to a dictatorship.
Religion is another aspect of cultural identity that can help people to feel grounded but which can also be exploited to emphasise differences. It plays a big part in American politics, having been associated with the Republican Party since 1979 when Jerry Falwell founded the Moral Majority, a conservative political lobbying movement. Religion also plays a part in European politics, with Christian Democrat parties in several countries having conservative leanings.
An unscrupulous leader can offer what must appear as the ultimate certainty to a religious believer: to follow a sacred text exactly to the letter. The Independent article, Who are ISIS?, described one high-profile example: ISIS (also known as the so-called 'Islamic State', ISIL or Da'esh) is a Sunni Muslim group that has been waging a holy war, a jihad, in Iraq and Syria. It has been sponsoring acts of terrorism all over the world. This can be seen as a resentful reaction to Western power – colonialism, followed by military intervention and commercial dominance – and the Sunni Muslims’ loss of status: as exemplified by an Al-Jazeera report, Iraq Sunnis rally against Shia-led government, following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Although religious fundamentalism appears to be an ideal solution – to be obeying God – all religious texts have to be interpreted and the leader can select whatever passages suit his or her purpose, as noted earlier (4.4.4.1).
Children of Muslim immigrants who live in Western countries may feel left behind, as they experience discrimination against them in applying for jobs and find themselves uneasily bridging two cultures. This makes some of them vulnerable to being recruited into jihadi organisations, as described in the International Business Times report: ISIS Recruiting Westerners. An Economist book review, Men of war, noted that jihadism offers recruits a sense of direction, excitement, and belonging to a group in what is presented as a noble cause: serving God.
The political exploitation of cultural badges of identity – whether in the form of racism, nationalism or religion – is known as 'identity politics'. As discussed later (6.7.4.2), it is a dangerous path to tread when it takes the form of aggression towards other groups.
(This is an archived page: a later version than the one published in Patterns of Power Edition 3a. The latest versions are at book contents).
[1] The Sky News article, Steve Bannon arrest: Who is Donald Trump's former top aide?, was published on 21 August 2020 and was available in March 2021 at https://news.sky.com/story/steve-bannon-arrest-who-is-donald-trumps-former-top-aide-12053332.
[2] Bad Boys of Brexit: Who is taking back control? was available in March 2021 at https://badboysofbrexit.com/2017/12/22/steve-bannon/.