not that Americans are irrational or angry—it’s that their lived experience teaches them, over and over again, that systems are unresponsive, extractive, and indifferent to their futures. In towns hollowed out by deindustrialization, where public schools are underfunded and hospitals shuttered, populism offers a story. It may not be factually accurate, but it resonates. Trump didn’t invent the sense that elites talk down to “regular people”; he simply weaponized it. From vaccine mandates to ESG investment strategies, the populist narrative treats every technocratic initiative as further evidence of elite collusion. The tragedy is that this narrative, while emotionally compelling, rarely directs attention to the actual mechanisms of redistribution and theft. Instead, it targets im- migrants, educators, LGBTQ+ communities, or “deep state” conspiracies. Consider the Republican Party’s recent shift toward anti-corporate rhet- oric—targeting Disney, BlackRock, and even the Chamber of Commerce. This is not a move toward economic justice. It is the co-opting of anti-elite language for culture war ends. The structural systems—of financialization, environmental externalization, and extractive data capitalism—remain un- touched. The theft persists, even as the slogans grow louder.
4. Infrastructure Theater and the Elusiveness of Accountability
The bipartisan infrastructure bill of 2021 was widely hailed as a historic investment in America’s built environment. And indeed, some long-neglected projects are finally moving forward. But even here, the mechanisms of public investment remain as problematic as ever. Projects are awarded through layers of subcontracting and opaque procurement procedures. Oversight is fragmented across agencies with conflicting mandates. The result is a kind of infrastructure theater: ribbon-cutting ceremonies for projects that are behind schedule, over budget, or disconnected from actual local needs. Take California’s high-speed rail—a project now two decades behind schedule and billions over budget. Originally promised as a transforma- tional investment in sustainable mobility, it has become a case study in what
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