Right-Wing Populism: Morbid Symptoms of Global Capitalism

Abstract With the ascent of Donald Trump and other authoritarian leaders it is vitally important to understand why middle-class and working-class voters are attracted to authoritarian solutions. Neoliberalism and globalization have provided the basis for alienation from the political process and democratic institutions. But to understand the psychological and cultural reasons we can turn to Erich Fromm, Herbert Marcuse, and others from the Frankfort school to explain how fear, shame, and despair feed the far-right.