Reading the (identity politics) market: Articulating the forest past the trees post-Trump

Abstract

Prior to becoming the President-elect, Donald Trump long engaged in the practice of exploiting economic trends that displayed a potential for increased rates of profit maximization. Like those engaged in speculative investment, he looked for exploitable opportunities where a modest outlay could be directed toward a precise stream of the market with the sole intent of receiving an exacerbated rate of return compared to the allotment initially invested. Over the past decade, the United States has witnessed a unique political climate of a disorganized, yet growing, movement of frustrated citizens inarticulately moving to the Right. It could be argued that Trump saw a prospective market ripe for exploitation herein, which showed a very real potential for significant returns. Without a centralized focus or guide, these under-formed sociopolitical blocs traversing the country were thus read as a vulnerable venture. It was amidst this climate that a capitalist with a speculative eye looked at a prospective rising market that could provide one chance investor an impressive yield: the US Presidency. By adopting a unique performativity, Trump invested in 2015.

Keywords

class consciousness Donald Trump identity politics performativity spontaneity

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