Why are we so poor? Working-class whites, capitalism, and racial scapegoating

These past couple weeks we discussed whiteness, specifically the complication of experience that arises from racial advantage but economic disadvantage. This quote from Sarah Smarsh’s Heartland really stuck with me: “If a person could go to work every day and still not be able to pay the bills and the reason wasn’t racism, what less articulated problem was afoot?”

To a lot of working-class white people, especially Republicans, ascertaining the answer to this question can be difficult. If there is no structural oppression preventing them from reaching class privilege, maybe the issue lies with them personally. Facing this is difficult, scapegoating minorities and political opponents is easy. I believe the complexity of this exact question has informed and supported the recent wave of Trumpism we have seen across the U.S.

However, to me, the answer to Smarsh’s question is extremely simple: capitalism is to blame. These white Americans are mistaken if they think there is not a structure oppressing them—because there is. Capitalism is keeps poor people of all races from reaching class privilege. So what is preventing white working-class Americans from recognizing this fact?

I’ll begin with an anecdote: a conversation I had with my Trump supporting, working-class, white cousin. Back in 2016, he was explaining to me why he was voting for Donald Trump. His biggest complaint with the past years was Obamacare, specifically the requirement that he have and pay for healthcare insurance. In his view, he would rather not have healthcare than pay for it, and he was upset that government was making the decision for him.

I guess I could kind of understand his perspective. If he really can’t afford it, why should he be forced to pay for it against his will? But then again how can anyone be comfortable living without healthcare insurance? (Note: my cousin has since gone to the hospital for a snake bite, so he should be thankful that Obama forced him to pay for insurance; otherwise, his out-of-pocket costs would have been enormous).

What astounded me most from that conversation, however, was the way my cousin accepted such a tradeoff as normal. He didn’t question what kind of society would force you to choose between going bankrupt and being able to take care of one’s health. For him, it was all about the way the choice was made for him; he didn’t even that he had only two choices and why that was.

This was the same cousin who loves to blame almost all his problems on Democrats and illegal immigrants. If Democrats weren’t letting the illegal immigrants come here, take our jobs, and freeride off our welfare, well then he would probably be able to afford healthcare, he said. He was sure this was the case, but I was not so convinced.

I asked my cousin what was preventing him from supporting someone like Bernie Sanders, whose plan would not raise taxes for him, but would provide him free healthcare. His response was immediate and visceral. He dismissed it with “well that’s socialism, so it’s bad.”

The limitations of his worldview are not uncommon among working-class whites. It is the product of years of the Red Scare and Cold War propaganda to create an emotional and uncompromising hatred of socialism. If working-class whites, the largest demographic in this country, were to figure out that capitalism was causing their problems, the wealth elite could be overthrown, losing their money and power.

To distract working class whites from capitalism, conservative propagandists employed racial division and scapegoating. For a lot of the current generations, this resulted from the Southern Strategy, a tactic by notable conservatives such as Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon that focused on increasing white support for Republicans by appealing to racism against black Americans. Through coded language and dog-whistle politics (such as “law and order” or wanting to preserve “safe neighborhoods”), Republicans were incredibly successful at exploiting racial polarization to win elections.

Donald Trump revived this strategy. He has openly admired Richard Nixon and one of his main platforms was to restore “law and order” to American suburbs. This, coupled with his racist comments about Mexican immigrants, is clear indication of how Trump employs racial scapegoating to galvanize his support base, largely white working-class Americans.

In my opinion, this tactic is so successful because of the way it divides the lower class and blinds working-class white Americans from the actual root cause of their economic disadvantage. It gives them something else to blame besides themselves or their own work ethic. Truly, structural disadvantage is easier to stomach if you can blame it on evil people you refuse to understand like Democrats, Black people, and illegal immigrants (who are stealing our jobs and freeriding off our welfare!).

The reality of this is disheartening and contributes to an incredibly polarized society. However, I have reason to be optimistic. For one, Donald Trump was one of the least popular presidents in history. Additionally, support for socialism among young people is higher than ever, even rivaling the support of capitalism.