The Politics of Fear Is Really the Economics of Insecurity
People may not be becoming irrational, intolerant or ideologically extreme. They may be becoming afraid of falling — and politics has learned how to monetize that fear.
One of the easiest ways to misunderstand contemporary politics is to begin with politics.
Start somewhere else.
Start with the apartment.
The job contract.
The supermarket receipt.
The pension projection.
The school.
The hospital appointment.
The monthly payment.
The fear that your children will not live as well as you did.
Then look at politics.
The picture becomes rather different.
Across democracies, analysts spend enormous energy trying to explain why voters are angry.
Immigration.
Identity.
Nationalism.
Globalization.
Social media.
Russia.
China.
Trump.
Brexit.
Populism.
The far right.
The radical left.
All of these may matter.
But I suspect we occasionally confuse the language of political anger with its economic origin.
People often discuss politics using cultural vocabulary while experiencing insecurity through their bank account.
Fear rarely arrives wearing an economics badge
Imagine a 52-year-old worker.
His salary has barely kept pace with prices.
His house has increased in value, but his children cannot afford one.
He worries that technology may eventually change his job.
His parents need care.
His pension seems less secure than expected.
His town has changed.
Public services appear stretched.
Then someone asks him:
“What worries you about immigration?”
Perhaps his answer really is about immigration.
But perhaps several anxieties have been placed into the same psychological container.
Economic insecurity rarely introduces itself politely:
“Good evening. I am declining confidence in future household purchasing power.”
It arrives as fear.
And politics supplies the nouns.
The trust numbers are extraordinary
The OECD’s 2024 Trust Survey found that only 39% of respondents across participating OECD countries reported high or moderately high trust in their national government, while 44% had low or no trust. (OECD)