Analysis Of How Half Of America By David Wong

Great Essays
The recent election of Donald Trump as president of the United States has evoked strong reactions from people worldwide, leaving Americans and non-Americans alike baffled as to how the former businessman and reality TV star – who has become known for being prejudiced against several demographics, as well as his plan to build a wall between the US and Mexico, among other things – managed to become the leader of one of the most powerful countries in the world. David Wong’s article, How Half of America Lost Its F**king Mind, provides an interesting perspective on why so many Americans might have voted for Trump. He writes that rural areas in the United States are for the most part ignored by both the media and the government while the focus remains …show more content…
For a long time, people living outside of urban centres in the United States have been ignored and oppressed by those more wealthy and elite than they are, who often do not keep anyone’s best interest in mind other than their own . This speaks to Marx’s argument that “The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations […] and has left remaining no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, than callous ‘cash payment.’” From this it is reasonable to conclude that both the Proletariat and Americans living in the country (which in this case are one in the same) would harbour resentment against the opposite group. Without money, power, and resources, however, it is very difficult for one particular group to fight back against the oppressor. That’s where democracy comes in – if the rural United States themselves cannot stand up for what they believe in, maybe they can elect someone who can. It is in this sense that a vote for Trump is a vote for “the brick through the window of the elites. ” For Marx, this is a direct product of conflicts between the two prevailing social

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