It’s Our Fault
On MANGO’s, Coconuts, and the Responsibility of a Powerless Left.
Since the election, establishment Democrats have, not surprisingly, blamed the Left for Trump’s victory. Conveniently absolving themselves of any wrongdoing. The Left, of course, insists on their innocence by virtue of their powerlessness. After all, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the Establishment.
Both sides have a point. The Left is institutionally and politically weak. Yet, since 2016, some strikingly progressive ideas have found their way into the platforms of prominent politicians and the mainstream political conversation. Some have even been tested out in government policy. And, in fact, many of the ideas that helped to define the Democratic Party’s image between 2020 and 2024 were identifiably left-wing ideas.
Politically, the results have not been salutary. Trump made yet more gains among the working class, and especially in the Left’s own backyard—deep blue urban counties.
We can comfort ourselves by throwing the blame back at elites like Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. And no doubt they deserve it. For decades, liberal leaders ignored labor, embraced NAFTA, and shrugged at the offshoring of millions of blue-collar jobs. But we also ought to look coldly at the Left as it exists today and ask: are we part of the problem? Are we the baddies?
