Goodbye, American neoliberalism. A new era is here: Cornel West Trump’s election was enabled by the policies that overlooked the plight of our most vulnerable citizens. We gird ourselves for a frightening future.

The neoliberal era in the United States ended with a neofascist bang. The political triumph of Donald Trump shattered the establishments in the Democratic and Republican parties – both wedded to the rule of Big Money and to the reign of meretricious politicians.

The Bush and Clinton dynasties were destroyed by the media-saturated lure of the pseudo-populist billionaire with narcissist sensibilities and ugly, fascist proclivities. The monumental election of Trump was a desperate and xenophobic cry of human hearts for a way out from under the devastation of a disintegrating neoliberal order – a nostalgic return to an imaginary past of greatness.

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White working- and middle-class fellow citizens – out of anger and anguish – rejected the economic neglect of neoliberal policies and the self-righteous arrogance of elites. Yet these same citizens also supported a candidate who appeared to blame their social misery on minorities, and who alienated Mexican immigrants, Muslims, black people, Jews, gay people, women and China in the process.

Photo | Max Becherer / AP

Art | Glen E. Friedman

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Cornel West is a political activist, author and university professor. His books include Race Matters and Democracy Matters.

Cornel West was born on June 2, 1953, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has taught at universities such as Harvard and Princeton, and has written books that include Race Matters, Democracy Matters and the memoir Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. West is also known for his appearances in the 2003 Matrix sequels, his spoken word albums and for co-hosting a radio show, Smiley & West, with Tavis Smiley.

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