1. Globalism 2. Liberalism By Globalism, I'm referring to the dominant economic system in place where the mobilization of capital outside of a nationality has resulted in the deindustrialization of America and replaced industry with financialization. One result of globalism has been a dramatic increase in corporate profits. This expansion in corporate wealth has given large multi-national companies expanded political influence. A person with political aspirations is hard pressed to garner support without the backing of big business. Another result of globalization is that large corporate interests not only have greater influence in Washington, but also use their wealth to shape public opinion via the media. Corporate dollars are used not only for advertising products, but also to influence the perception of the public via public relations campaign through the media. Even foreign policy is based on globalization in the sense that opening new markets is the key to further corporate growth resulting from sales, extracting resources, or obtaining cheaper sources of labor to lower production costs. Military decisions are based on these factors primarily rather than on the defense of the homeland as very few if any countries in the world currently have designs on attacking the American mainland. The offshoring of industry and financialization of the economy has greatly enriched a small segment of the population and provided a decent standard of living for significant numbers of people playing support roles, particularly in banking, military (Lockheed, Raytheon, etc.), accounting, and so forth. But for the majority of the population, wages have stagnated, costs have skyrocketed (medical, education), and debt soared. Only low interest rates, held in check by the Federal Reserve and the US dollar as reserve currency, have allowed the debt loads to mount without blowing up the system. By Liberalism, I'm referring to identity politics, multiculturalism, and political correctness as the social guidelines of what people can say in public without fear of reprisal. Communities and neighborhoods have become more individual centered in many cases, as diverse groups tend to keep to their own and alienate from people perceived as different. There is less acceptance of others even as interest groups attempt to force lifestyles on people who oppose the agenda such as the LGBT activists for example. Its been admitted that the Department of Defense has basically lost or been able to account for trillions of dollars. The number of citizens with health problems and drug addictions continue to increase. Parts of the government are obviously at war with each other. In summary, you have a country where there is no faith in the government, disenchantment with the economic system, a decaying social system where Facebook replaces face to face interaction, and someone like a Donald Trump is considered to be the best available option.
