This part of the blog series on the political ascendancy of the professional and managerial classes (PMC) shall comment on the return of Donald Trump as 47th President of the USA and the reaction to the result, and future challenges ahead.
Introduction
It shall refer to the politically influential left leaning (or liberal in US political rhetoric) professional/managerial classes who supported the Democratic Party and expressed their shock and surprise over the November 2024 election result. Democrats and Trump critics, which include current members of the UK government, Ireland and Germany have also voiced concerns over his Administration’s future policies and past behaviour.
The professional and managerial classes politically left-wing preferences increased markedly since the 1960s, and again in the 1990s They arise fromhighly educated people who are engaged across a range of professions, scientific and technical institutions.
Why did they become left-leaning and not right-leaning in the intervening decades? Times were prosperous and the West was winning the Cold war against the Soviet bloc- crucially it was due to philosophical interventions, explained below.
Their criticisms expressed about the forthcoming Administration are fears over foreign policy, raised further recently after Trump’s comments over the Panama Canal or Greenland’s sovereignty, the much-discussed increases in trade tariffs, or unfunded tax cuts stoking inflation, and proposed mass-deportation of illegal immigrants.
Does Trump’s return to the White House herald of the first stage of failure for radical post-modernist thinking, better known as ‘wokeism’ or is it simply wounded? There is a groundswell building on this issue and his inaugural address adds vigour to that claim (MSNBC, 2025).
Since the early 1960s, such thinking cultivated in ‘ivy-league’ universities and has influenced the thinking of its alumni throughout their career progression. This has been evident with students protests from that era over the Vietnam war to ‘free’ Palestine from 2023.
The commencement of the 2nd Trump Presidency in the United States starts with a widespread malaise with voters globally over the machinations of the politically dominant classes, evident in Germany with the ascendancy of the AfD, or almost immediate unpopularity the UK’s new labour government, and the crisis in South Korea with a short-lived declaration of martial law by the embattled unpopular president. Something is upsetting people, what is driving the division and lack of trust with the political classes?
Commentary on the result
Commentary on the US result, points towards the divisive diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, so favoured by the Democrats and successive governments in the UK, whether Labour or Conservative, as a significant reason for the decisive win for Trump’s MAGA republican movement. The election described as the first podcast election over the mainstream media who voiced clear support for the Democrats.
The behaviour and actions of his second administration holds considerable heightened expectations. However, it is not in anyone’s interest that it fails, situations to adjust policies will happen, but a disaster helps nobody, not just in the US or the West but developing nations too. Therefore, having a little faith in his unpredictable manner is conciliatory attitude to take for those who are critical. His unorthodox style may even bring results which are proving difficult, such as a workable Russian and Ukrainian ceasefire.
If successful, there is the possibility of a further 8 years of republican administration under T.J. Vance, new vice-president. Undoubtably, the 2nd Trump Administration from the get-go has much to do and play for. As always, economic concerns and political tensions are part of what just comes in the next in US politics, running the world’s largest economy and military with its complexity of commitments towards allies and adversaries is not an easy task.
However, unchecked illegal immigration and open borders remains a major political issue in the US. Ordinary citizens are concerned with economic issues, such as high food costs, and those exacerbated by immigration such as security, policing, housing, and welfare issues. An increase in non-white vote for the Republicans highlighted such concerns with Trump ‘racking up huge support from Latino voters’ with naturalised immigrants making the point that, ‘things have to de done legally, many of us worry that the borders were just open’ (BBC, 2024).
Wealthy professionals are not economically or social threatened from such daily realities of the just-about-managing citizens and benefit from a constant supply of low-paid servants to cover childcare and domestic chores. ‘Feminist Against Progress’ author Mary Harrington (2019) noted the ‘epistocracy’ -government by the clever’ and the ‘emergence of a new cognitive elite’ who have become detached from the society which is collectively within their professional expertise and abilities to control.
Notably, political ideals and allegiances meander over time, and indifference between ruled and rulers is not anything new or particular to the US.
However, the fate of post-modern ‘woke’ ideology, during this Republican term in office shall determine whether democracy, with all its flaws and benefits, continues as the dominant political force governing the free world. Alternatively, the ‘episto-cratic’ world-government philosophy (called cosmopolitanism) shall continue to control policy regardless of who occupies political office. As mentioned, the stakes are high.
Potted history
Therefore, in the briefest of potted history to grasp how ideals meander over time: The Democrats supported the slavery argument at the time of the US Civil War, then became aligned with trade unions in the industrialised economy of the 20th century and later embraced the emergent environmentalist agenda despite its large, unionised support from heavy-industry workers.
The Republicans were unionists and anti-slavery in the civil war and hold dear to free enterprise values yet are more socially conservative which appeals to a large Christian base. Notwithstanding their pro-trade stance, Republicans during 1970-80s became heavily influenced by monetary policy neo-conservatism thinking. Republicans promoted policies for low taxes and globalisation of production, often at the cost of its own industrial base. Critically, the US managed to remain highly innovative and retained its technical and financial predominance.
Notably, previous US administrations have been isolationist which effected the political, economic and miliary ambitions of allies, such as Britain and France. For example: the US delayed its entry into the World Wars of the 20th century for its own strategic reasons. After they were tough negotiators over post-war loans to the UK and later gave limited support in the Suez crisis of 1956 to the UK and France. Lastly, there was ambivalence over the Falklands war in 1982 from the Regan administration, who were otherwise a close ally of the UK’s Thatcher government.
To wit, a Trump administration enacting trade tariffs or a continued withdrawal from its world policing role (or the main burdens of NATO), should come neither as a shock nor lie beyond the expertise of western nation-states on how to cope. The European political classes, especially the UK, have a deep reservoir of institutional expertise to draw upon for advice and concerns should be containable.
More concerning is why have educated influential people taken the viewpoint that world chaos lies ahead?
The professional classes, regardless of political appointees, shall remain in their collective positions. These include senior officials and officers of government departments, of the federal Reserve, of industries including defence and pharmaceutical, or commerce such as banking and insurance, law, education, and research institutes.
The technology/media behemoths which straddle all-elements of the global economy will continue to disrupt or adapt as required and in fact will be a major political operator. The fact that two of its leading entrepreneurs are part of the administration speaks volumes for the influence of technology and media platforms have over the lives of their fellow citizens.
Best to remember that historically the world is always in crisis- it is the human condition handed down from the gods or part-of-god’s great plan, depending on your religious perspective. How we cope in our time is how and what future generations will judge our moral worth and contribution to the human story.
Further, to those meandering political alliances and viewpoints, the initial professional and managerial cohort that came to adopt and espouse left-wing ideology were students of the post-war ‘boomer’ generation. From their college campuses, albeit slowly at first, left leaning ‘boomers’ and mid-sixties ‘Xers’ through their business and social networks slowly altered business culture, practices, and procedures.
By the 1990s they began to take control of more sectors as diverse as finance and banking, telecommunications, media, the military, and security services. These sectors were once the secure domain of neo-conservative Republicans and monetary policy ideologists of the ‘silent’ generation. The change signified that wokeism had arisen, although unnamed as such. The left-leaning ‘Boomers’ and ‘Gen Xers’ managed to shift the political spectrum of the Democratic party far beyond normative 20th century core supporters to where its stands today.
This generational educational indoctrination continued through to later ‘Xers’ and sped-up with the 1980-90’s ‘millennials’ due to a radical theoretical supercharge by feminist thinkers who introduced intersectional thinking into academic courses. The supercharging theory is for discussion in part 2 of the series.
Thus, will the current graduate class of ‘Gen Zer’s’ who have experienced ‘wokeism’ in its full thunder by the second decade of the 21st century raise it to its apogee or its downfall?
This wide awake ‘wokeism’ nurtured by academia, imbued through generations, institutions and corporations has managed to give common cause to people once political opposites to unite against intersectional ideology. Thus, allowing once left and right-wing rivals to ally over issues. Such as Freedom of speech and expression which has become a fierce political debate.
The latter parts of this blog series will argue that the horizontal political spectrum of left-wing or right-wing political classification are not relevant in the 21st century of PMC led intersectional thinking. Please see the March 2024 blog on ‘do the terms left-wing and right-wing still mean anything’ (LDC, 2024).
The pollical spectrum best envisaged as a vertical hierarchy of beliefs based on the institutional credibility of your qualifications, choice of career, degree of celebrity status or brand recognition. Critical also to your social status is adherence to the ideology which originally sprung from the Frankfurt School of Social Research- the history of which discussed more in part 2.
Namely, left-leaning political beliefs are place in the upper levels with right-leaning beliefs considered lower or inferior morally and economically. This hierarchy is based on pollical preferences and educational privileges irrespective of the democratic process and professed political stances.
Testing Times
The shock and disbelief expressed by groups ranging from the Hollywood film industry, media, and west-coast based technology companies on the political left who had endorsed Harris and the democrats to win was clear to see on election night and the days after. Democratic voters seemed astonished that their fellow Americans in other states not in ‘real’ America had deigned to vote for Trump. It was bemusing to watch the YouTube shorts of sore democrats wailing and weeping in their cars rather than accept the result as it stood. Coping with matters not to your liking is a test of your own moral character as much as stating what you believe your political ideals and morals to be.
Since, the November 2024 election, the nomination of potential senior administration officials further raised fears of impending disaster to soon befall America with allegations of unsuitability, misconduct, or lack of experience of those nominated. To which, Trump’s choice of former Florida Rep.(R) Matt Gaetz for the attorney general’s office was first to decline his nomination in November due to a House Ethics Committee investigation into his conduct.
Next was his controversial choice of former Fox News contributor Peter Hegseth, who has little defence policy experience but has served in the US military, for US Defence Secretary. He faced tough questions at his nomination hearing over allegations over his conduct and views on women in combat (NYT, 2025).
Furthermore, his choice of Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman turned Republican and an US Army Reservist, as his choice for National Intelligence Director. Gabbard has allegedly made controversial comments on Syria and Russia and faced opposition to her nomination (AP, 2024).
Lastly, the nomination of Elon Musk, currently the world’s richest man and technology entrepreneur along with fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has created a storm with the world’s media, mainstream or online, over their involvement in the incoming Administration. Musk’s supporters praise his drive and zeal to get things done and his opponents condemning his zeal as ideologically misdirected and wish his drive went elsewhere. His odd salute at Trump’s inauguration will just further inflame his critics.
After the election, internet memes reminiscent of the early 2000s of George Bush II presidential victories appeared describing the coastal states as the real USA and referred to the central states or Republican voting parts as ‘dumbfuckistan’ (Fine Art, 2025). Although new versions are now available for both sides of the argument. The point being that similar memes have been available on the internet since the early 2000’s, so unoriginal.
The use of the ‘dumbfuckistan’ meme and the claim to be the ‘real’ Americans, clearly meant those who voted democrat, which denotes a degree of intellectual and moral superiority over those citizens who did not. Thus, it infers most republican voters in these states are intellectually uniformed or ‘dumb’ in their political preferences. Dumb, outside the US, means unable to speak as in struck dumb or speechless and only widely meant in its informal derogatory form as stupid in the USA.
Therefore, the meme by its implication does not portray an intellectually superior attitude but an unreflective and resentful one when the democratic process returns a result against your wishes. The quote from Irish American writer H.L. Menchen is apt that ‘democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.’
Thus, in the coming years of the 2nd Trump administration those who voted republican will need to learn, and quickly, that compromises and tempering of campaign promises are an unavoidable feature or ‘norm’ of the congressional realpolitik. The realpolitik agenda is to succeed with the most important political reforms and fiscal initiatives have them passed in Congress and to become enacted laws. As stated, the stakes are high for the continuance of democracy, national stability, and not just of the American dream but for Western values.
As democracy’s outcomes are for shared by all social classes and parties, those democrats in positions of influence in the media, or institutional authority need to develop a degree of humility and accept the wishes of those who stand against the implementation of radical agendas developed without their consent.
Accepting democratic choice and being more conciliatory would help the healing process. The radical ideologies emergent from college campuses, which indoctrinated the PMCs and consequently the institutions under their influence, over the interim. The radical ideologies need moderation or better dropped from educational syllabuses (MSNBC, 2025).
It’s the economy stupid
In the 1992 Bill Clinton and George Bush I presidential battle, the Democrats famously and effectively claimed ‘it’s the economy stupid’, and while the republican Bush referred to ‘those bozos’ with his ‘read my lips no more taxes’ tactics as their campaign rallying cries. The words maybe but nasty seemed to win although it did not built consensus between political parties and consequently citizens.
As shown, divisiveness was evident during this period and just repeating with ever growing electronic rapidity. However, the mark of a decent elite or ruling class is to bring people together by providing leadership which creates stability that encourages innovation and therefore prosperity for all. It is the ability to live with dissent of those who simply hold contrary views and express them in ways you find disagreeable.
This blog series outlines the philosophical background to how 4 generations have exposure and influenced by post-modernist/structuralist thinkingfrom academic intellectuals from the 1950s of French and German philosophers that were prevalent in the Western society.
Their ideology, like others of a political or religious fervour, has evolved and developed to convince enough people that their fellow citizens who do not hold similar views are either ignorant, malfeasant or threatening to their lifestyle. Thus, a need for the safe spaces has become a by-word of the social media cancel culture in the early 21st century.
This cancel-culture has had real-life effects too with the ruination of careers and reputations, not just of academics, writers and comedians who wish to express freedom of speech but also other less prominent people. This is the position which need not stand.
Cancel-culture or simple denunciation is non-forgiving cultural feature, reminiscent of Soviet-Russia era persecutions personified by secret police chief Lavrentiy Beria’s infamous phrase ‘show me the man and I’ll find you the crime,’ for those who refused to accept or transgressed the ideology (Quoteikon, 2025).
Part 3 of the series shall suggest if there is any post-modern thinking that could be strengthen democracy, which with all its foibles, is still one of humanities best ideas in the last 2,500 years.
The ascendant political and intellectual superiority prevalent in the graduate classes, particularly for universities considered to be educational topflight or elite, is another manifestation of the age-old tension between the city sophisticate and country bumkin or small-town dweller.
Increased professionalisation and ranking of higher education institutes has intensified throughout the 21st century. In the UK, a work-related phenomenon described as the ‘anywheres’ versus ‘somewheres’ a phrase coined by British author David Goodhart to explain the divisions in British society that brought about the ‘Brexit’ referendum over EU membership and a rise in more populist politics. Goodhart explains the ‘anywheres‘, who derived their identities from their careers and education. While the ‘somewheres‘, root their identity in a sense of place and from the people around them (BBC, 2017).
This social phenomenon continues with movements such as the emergence of the Reform Party UK, recent farmer’s protests, and angry, if crass and misinformed, riots from people that feel forgotten or disenfranchised. The political case against a non-forgiving ideology which leads on complacent progressives grows but it still needs improvement.
In the US, the ‘basket of deplorables’ remark by Hilary Clinton during her 2016 campaign for the presidency were levelled towards Trump supporters who allegedly held ‘“racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, [or] Islamophobic” views’ (Time, 2016).
Those that know what is best for their political and career advancement, do so already aligned to the ascendant ideology. Disappointingly those same enlightened professionals did not see the divisive nature of these accusations towards those Republican voters who did not hold such extreme views. Trump won his first term, that comment helped, and not forgotten.
On reflection
On reflection, whether the somewhere/anywhere phenomenon or deplorables comment. The underlying issues are as much cultural and class issues as a purely politically concern. People are choosing which side of the cultural and class argument they now fall.
To whom does one owe their cultural allegiances and class loyalty, to their university, professional colleagues and political party or the town and country they live in and the culture they have stake in?
President Trump made it clear from his inaugural speech that more protectionist and tariff orientated policies, as predicted by the mainstream media and political pundits, will take effect with the hope to make US manufacturing great again. The effects of these policies which effect economic performance and provide scope for praise or criticism of the Administration in the coming months.
However, critics already think it will cause a decline in world trade, a rise in inflation and global poverty rates alongside upheaval in the traditional post-1945 Western alliances. Such protectionist measures can encourage other authoritarian regimes to advance similar agendas which may threaten the institutions that have helped the USA maintain predominance since World War 2, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Thus, second term economic protectionist policies could create inefficiencies and encourage cronyism. It is worth noting that immigration has made America into the Great nation state it is today. Therefore, policies over tariffs on trade or any removals of immigrants, desirable or not, needs careful development and implementation by the Trump Administration. Without doubt, voters have clearly asked for something done on this highly divisive immigration issue. For the sake of internal stability there is every reason to give them a chance to prove they can do it. Events on the US southern border are already in progress at the time of writing.
However, they still look better than Europe and the UK whose own rally has stalled, due to bond market worries over economic stagflation and debt concerns. It is a duel between market pragmatists and economic theorists over their understanding of what the Trump MAGA team will deliver- the pragmatists believe less in harmful tariffs and more of deregulation of the economy of any unnecessary legislation.
Trump’s New World Order
Finally, it’s worth quoting the Financial Times comment from the 7th of November 2024 on, ‘Trump’s New World Order,’ that Trump’s 2nd term,’ points to an overall malaise, to the overreach of the left’s progressive agenda, and to voter’s questioning of the very purpose of democracy if it fails to deliver for them’ (FT, 2024).
Therefore, with the presidency inaugurated and the stakes high, one may ask: if the old-world order with all its academic merits was so well informed, civic-minded, and accountable to their fellow citizens- would someone like Trump ever stand for president?
As Mary Harrington (2025) further notes about ‘the serious money and power,’ or those in control of what matters institutionally, ‘has retreated and consolidated, into an international, borderless power-structure more neo-feudal than liberal-democratic’ and […] ‘incapable of thinking outside the political dogmas’- what would Michel Foucault think of his ‘anywhere’ disciples shall be discussed more in part. 2.
Lasty for 2025, the old phrase comes to mind- cometh the hour, cometh the ‘drill baby drill’ Donald (MSNBC,2024).
LDC Jan 2025
References and further reading- For: Part. 1.
Associated Press, (2024), ‘Gabbard’s Sympathetic Views Toward Russia Cause Alarm as Trump’s Pick to Lead Intelligence Services, 2025 Associated Press. Available Online at: Tulsi Gabbard’s sympathetic views toward Russia cause alarm | AP News
BBC Newsnight, (2017), ‘David Goodhart: ‘Anywheres versus Somewheres?’, 2025 BBC News. Available Online at: David Goodhart: Anywheres versus Somewheres – BBC News
BBC News, (2024), ’It’s Simple, really’- Why Latinos flocked to Trump’s Working-class Coalition’ by B. Debusmann Jr, M. Halpert and M. Wendling, 2025 BBC News UK. Available Online at: ‘It’s simple, really’ – why Latinos flocked to Trump – BBC News
Fine Art, (2025), Dumbfuckistan-map-poster’ Matilda Clark, 2025 Fine Art America. Available Online At: dumbfuckistan-map-poster-matilda-clark.jpg (750×900)
Harrington. M, (2019), ‘Social Mobility Won’t bring Social Justice: The Assumption That Everyone is Born with Equal Abilities Makes It harder to Help the Less Advantaged’, by M. Harrington, 2025 UnHerd Ltd, UK. Available Online at: Social mobility won’t bring social justice – UnHerd
Harrington, M, (2025) ‘Elon Musk: Neo-Feudal Prince: He is Disrupting the Liberal Democratic Order’ by M. Harrington, 2025 Unherd UK. Available Online at: Elon Musk: neo-feudal prince – UnHerd
Little Deal Clincher, (2024), ‘Do the Terms Left-Wing and Right-Wing Still Mean Anything?’ by 2025 Little Deal Clincher. Available Online at: Do the Terms Left-Wing and Right-Wing Still Mean Anything? – The Little Deal Clincher
MSNBC, (2025), ‘Read: Trump’s 2025 Inauguration Speech Full Transcript,’ 2025 MSNBC Cable, LLC. Available Online at: Read: Trump’s 2025 inauguration speech full transcript
NYT, (2025),’Highlights from the Hearing Where Republicans Embraced Hegseth’s Bid to Lead the Pentagon’ 2025 New York Times Company, USA. Available Online at: Highlights From the Hearing Where Republicans Embraced Hegseth’s Bid to Lead the Pentagon – The New York Times
Quoteikon, (2025), ‘Lavrentiy Beria Quotes’ 2025 Quoteikon. Available Online at: 14 of the Best Quotes By Lavrentiy Beria | Quoteikon
Time, (2016), ‘Read Hillary Clinton’s “basket of Deplorable” Remarks About Donald Trump Supporters’ by K. Reilly, 2024 Time USA LLC. Available Online at: Hillary Clinton Transcript: ‘Basket of Deplorables’ Comment | TIME