The United States of America election campaigns are fast drawing to a close. Even though some have been critical of its authenticity, the American democracy has a lot to be admired. It gives everyone a chance to be on the political podium.
It allowed Barack Obama, an African-American, to become president and with Hilary Clinton likely to be the first female president. It also provides citizens so many opportunities to assess their candidates.
There is no doubt that many people globally, followed the debates closely and will continue to follow the campaign drama as it unfolds. Of course, despite the drama that comes with democracy, there is history to be made if Hillary Clinton becomes the first female president of the USA or if Donald Trump wins against the first female candidate.
The fact that there is a Constitution, which is respected by everyone means most of the niggling questions that bedevil African politics are nipped in the bud.
Terms of office are clear and it is not up for discussion when the sitting president’s term comes to an end, therefore, succession is never an issue.
Elections are genuinely designed to empower people to choose a leader and not a periodic exercise to appease the international community like it is in most elections in Africa. We yearn to be like them, but most African leaders believe there is no resigning or retiring in politics.
That’s not why I am writing this week. I wish to discuss Trump, one of the US presidential candidates in the forthcoming elections.
Most people are surprised that Trump, despite that it has always been clear from the beginning that he is a misogynist, white supremacist, racist, sexist and anything else that goes against today’s egalitarianism, still managed to be where he is today in what is thought to be the world’s foremost democracy.
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Well, that’s what democracy does. While the polls suggest otherwise, it may not surprise if Trump wins.
Trump represents the old school thinking premised on the idea that one social group is more superior than others. He represents that sad past, the period before the rise of the civil rights movement in the 1950s in the US where not everyone was equal. He represents the masters of that period — those who benefitted from the abuse of other races for profit and wealth accumulation. He represents the reincarnation of everything bad that befell humankind before the 1950s.
This thinking is actually widespread among white supremacists, who all along could not express themselves publicly for fear of stigmatisation or discrimination if they are known or seen to be politically and socially incorrect.
In Trump, they have found a rallying figure and they are going to back him to the polls. Their real numbers may not be easy to ascertain, as not everyone wants to be publicly associated with what seems to be a backward idea.
What propels the idea to the fore are frustrations that egalitarianism has taken away their power and superiority and they are being suffocated out, their historically abundant and unhindered access to all opportunities of power and wealth.
There are reasons why this is so. During that old period, other non-white races from other regions represented free or cheap labour and their countries of origin, where sources of free or cheap resources, and this meant maximising on profits. Globalisation has shrunk these.
Civil rights movements overturned this domination, giving rise to egalitarianism, within the same principles of democracy. It meant everyone of any race had equal rights, including the right to vote and make choices.
The labour movement too emerged calling for minimum wages and workers’ rights for all races, which meant that the cost of labour spiked cutting into their excessive profits.
When China came calling dangling the cheap labour carrot, the same supremacists rushed to invest there, leaving the American economy ailing. With China’s labour market fast adjusting to global labour standards, profit margins too are frustratingly shrinking and the only other option is to return home. But before they do so, they need a Trump to spearhead a new revolution of some sort to help with regression to the old days.
In addition, they were the biggest losers when democracy set in, as it meant that everyone became equal and must be afforded equal access to available opportunities.
Competition for business opportunities, jobs, houses and other social amenities became tighter and tougher as other races made head way into the new zones of life based on merit than race. The supremacists now need to compete even in areas where they were entitled by racial ascription.
This has culminated in the general feeling that other races are benefitting where they did not invest. And Trump has become that sounding board, which is why his supporters are not concerned about his temperament, morals or issues of human decency.
It is an American election and why does it matter to Africa? Well, Africa historically provided slaves and most likely under Trump administration the continent will once again turn into a new market for cheap resources, a boost, which the American supremacists are yearning for.
Tapiwa Gomo is a development consultant based in Pretoria, South Africa
