Trump's victory clearly appears to stem from a sense of economic powerlessness, or a fear of losing power, among his supporters. To them, his simple slogan, 'Make America great again,' sounds like 'Make You great again': economic power will be given to the multitudes without taking anything away from the already successful.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the feelings of economic insecurity among Trump's supporters, who see his slogan as a promise of empowerment without sacrifice.
Robert J. Shiller's quote reflects on the underlying sentiments that contributed to Donald Trump's political rise. It suggests that many of his supporters felt economically powerless, believing that Trump's message of 'Make America great again' resonated with their desire for personal empowerment and success. This slogan, interpreted by them as a promise of restoring their own greatness and economic opportunity, speaks to a broader collective fear of losing status amidst economic change, conveying the notion that such promises can appeal to the masses without demanding sacrifices from those who are already successful.
In practice
In a political debate, to illustrate how economic fear can drive voter sentiment.
Those on the downside of rising economic inequality generally do not want government policies that look like handouts. They typically do not want the government to make the tax system more progressive, to impose punishing taxes on the rich, in order to give the money to them. Redistribution feels demeaning. It feels like being labeled a failure.
Speculative markets have always been vulnerable to illusion. But seeing the folly in markets provides no clear advantage in forecasting outcomes, because changes in the force of the illusion are difficult to predict.
That's the world we live in: when it comes to economics, people have emotions; it's not like chemistry or physics.
Money management has been a profession involving a lot of fakery - people saying they can beat the market, and they really can't.
We should not be focusing on quick solutions. The really important concern for policymakers everywhere is to prevent disasters - that is, the outlier events that matter the most.
If we wait until income inequality is much more severe, we will have a whole class of new superrich who will probably feel entitled to their wealth and will have the means to defend their interest. That's already gone far enough. We shouldn't let it become more extreme.
One must beware of ministers who can do nothing without money, and those who want to do everything with money.
Our democracy cannot be left in the hands of those who would rather watch or participate in a train wreck than stop it.
It is only common sense to recognize that the great bulk of Americans, whether Republican or Democrat, face many common problems and agree on a number of basic objectives.
Vote for the man who promises least; he'll be the least disappointing.
History furnishes to politics all the arguments that it needs, for the chosen cause.
So many idealistic political movements for a better world have ended in mass-murdering dictatorships. Giving leaders enough power to create 'social justice' is giving them enough power to destroy all justice, all freedom, and all human dignity.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.