Donald Trump may actually prove to be a great, however strange, gift to the left. In particular to fans of socialism, he is now virtually a walking billboard for the heartless, soulless, brutal evils of unregulated capitalism.
In fact, Hollywood casting could not have dreamed up a better foil to activate, mobilize, and unite the disparate forces of the left, who, after four decades of identity politics and internecine struggles (at war with each other), are suddenly wide-awake to who the real enemy is. It’s not a question of “if” a revolution will occur, but when. My hope is that it will be peaceful.
A good comparison of Trump to capitalism is John Gotti with the Italian mafia. Let’s take a deeper look at this analogy. During Gotti’s tenure as a flashy, “Dapper Don” mob kingpin in New York, his expensive suits and boastful manner were viewed with horror by his Moustache Pete compadres—low-key, behind the scenes wiseguys who drove Ford sedans and shunned the spot light—fearing the unwanted attention it drew to “their thing.”
They had reason to be concerned. As a result of all the bad press, Giuliani hit the scene and began locking up mobsters left and right: effectively routing the Italian mob from New York.
It’s not hard to figure out who the Moustache Pete’s of capitalism are, those who have the most to lose every day this other “Don from New York” remains in the oval office; acting out his bizarre Godfather fantasies. They include pretty much everyone in the top 1%, including Gates, Buffet, Zuckerberg, and hedge fund gazillionaires sweating this one out big time. Hoping the barricades will come later rather than sooner.
Pre-Trump, in just the past decade, amazing developments have occurred to set the stage for Trump starring as America’s version of King George III, Marie Antoinette (in a cross-dressing role), or Tsar Nicholas Alexander. Occupy Wall Street, the first rumblings of revolution, led to the legitimization of socialism with Bernie Sanders—who is now America’s most popular, beloved, and trustworthy politician.
Add to the mix an important film by Michael Moore, Capitalism a Love Story, and book by Thomas Piketty, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, and all we need now is the “Let them eat cake” moment. It may come in the form of tweet.