Slaying Trumpism

The elision of capital as an agent of workers’ oppression allowed for a second omission: unions. Aside from a brief mention of collective bargaining, unions were completely absent from Obama’s speech, despite being one of the most important bulwarks against inequality.

While it is true that the TPP would enhance American hegemony, it would be a disaster for American workers. A continuation of the trade regime that’s existed since NAFTA’s passage in the early 1990s, the TPP would lead to further assaults on the position of American workers, exacerbating the inequality Obama purportedly deplores.

Why Obama Can’t Slay Trumpism
by Paul Heideman 1-13-16

Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address exhibited many of the qualities that have endeared him to progressive Americans over the last eight years. Intelligent and expansive, it laid out a path for the country’s future based on a rational recognition of the nation’s problems — from economic inequality to climate change — and embracing values like fairness and tolerance.

Largely avoiding detailed policy discussions, it instead worked to rekindle liberal enthusiasm and confidence, which have suffered in recent months amid a recrudescence of reaction triggered by the Republican presidential primary.

Though he went unmentioned, the specter of Donald Trump was felt throughout the speech, much of which was concerned with both rebuking Trumpism and outlining a means of getting beyond it. But while liberals will undoubtedly applaud this aspect of the speech, it is here that Obama failed — for the actual course he recommended will only reinforce the trends that have produced Trumpism ...

More here: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/01/obama-state-union-2016-final-donald-trump-unions-workers/

This is the dilemma of anti-Trumpism in official politics. While liberals and many conservatives are united in opposition to what Trump represents, they are equally united in their commitment to the social order that has given his campaign life.