I’m a bit confused why capitalists support Trump when he plans on doing stuff that I think would destroy the economy. Thinking of mass deportations and high, broad tarrifs.

I’m not sure if:

  1. They just don’t care because they have enough wealth to weather anything.
  2. They don’t think Trump will actually do these things.
  3. They’re dumb and think it won’t hurt the economy.
  4. They plan on trading wealth for more direct power. I.e. becoming oligarchs.
  5. They have other ideologies (racism, Ayn Rand-ism, accelerationism, Dark Enlightenment, etc) that they prioritize higher than obtaining as much wealth as possible.

Or maybe some combination of the above, or something else entirely.

Edit: by “capitalists,” I mean the “elite” like Musk and his other billionaire donors. But I guess it’s a good question for smaller donors as well.

  • Cowbee [he/they]English
    61·
    1 month ago

    It’s important to know that Capitalists support both the Democrats and the Republicans. Many donate to both, even. What’s important is to analyze what Trump offers that Harris didn’t.

    1. Decreased taxation on higher tax brackets. Plain and simple.

    2. High tarrifs on goods from China, as a means to combat the PRC’s rising influence globally and ideally force development of US industry. Marco Rubio is especially warhawk-ish about the PRC, which ties into the US Navy’s plan to be ready for a hypothetical war with the PRC by 2027

    3. Austerity politics. Trump is slated to take a similar approach to Javier Milei and dramatically cut back on government spending, in many ways by selling publicly owned assets to private interests.

    4. Strong anti-immigration rhetoric endangers undocumented workers, which means the Capitalists can leverage this fear to pay them even lower wages under the table. Instead of paying foreign workers microscopic wages traditionally and paying hefty transportation costs, they can have a super-exploited underclass domestically.

    The important note about Capitalism, and by extension Imperialism, is that it starts to suffocate itself as it ages. The Tendency for the Rate of Profit to Fall is only able to be fought through expansion or centralization, to raise the absolute profit margins, and this sell-off of government assets is one of the most effective ways to do so.

    Now, more than ever, is a great time to start reading theory. I made an introductory Marxist reading list if you want to check it out! Feel free to leave feedback.