Yellow Vests and Brexit: Protests Against the Political and Economic Elite

A wave of protests against the entrench political and cultural elite is sweeping the planet through the emergence of populism, especially in Europe. Christopher Guilluy, a French geographer spoke of the "peripheral" populations that feel excluded and marginalized by the political process. He was recently interviewed about his these conditions which resulted in the Yellow Vests movement.

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Guilluy speak about France in particular, referring to a "peripheral France". This is the "geographic distribution of the working classes across France". He noticed that most of the working class lived far away from globalised major cities 15 years ago.

These city-states, like Paris, London, and New York, produce a lot of wealth in a globalist economic model. Workers, laborers and small business owners outside of the city are not needed for the wealth to be generated. They have become exclude from the greater society. This is what the Yellow Vest protest is a revolt against.

The cultural elite of celebrities, actors, intellectuals and the media usually support social movements, but not this time for the Yellow Vests. There is a cultural divide at play. The same happened with Brexit, where the British elite were shocked at the Brexit vote in protest to the status quo. Voters are reminding the political class that they exist.

Workers living outside of the city have lost positions of being noticed in the modern city-state society. Cities are more inaccessible, largely due to rising housing costs. Guilluy also mentions the re-emergence of medieval citadels, where cities like Paris are going to start to charge for entry, just like the city-states of the Middle Ages had excise duties to enter a town.

Yet, cities still need workers amidst their dominance of a corporate environment with qualified professionals and executives. Cheap workers usually come int he form of immigrants workers. But the people outside of cities still exist, yet aren't being included in the formation of this society. This the "peripheral" population. These people are not satisfied with how things are and are voicing their objections.

The modern elite seem cool and progressive, giving the appearance of no more class divide. But only to a certain point. They may act as if they care for the poor and working class, but they are complicit in pushing them to the sidelines of society. They benefit from the globalised economy while less so the poor and working class. People like Hilary Clinton call the latter the "deplorables", as the elite try to cater to the upper classes of the city-state society.

The elite present themselves as anti-racist and anti-fascist by trying to demonize those who stand against them, like they did with the Yellow Vests, calling them "xenophobes, anti-Semites and homophobes". This is how they defend their interests and marginalize opposition. It's a clever tactic that unfortunately some fall for. Yet it's this pathetic non-argument is the best they've got to defend and protect themselves. Fortunately many are seeing past the deception now, at least in France.

The elites are afraid of what might happen. They can;t control this movement, despite their attempts to try. Their control of the political process is failing them. There is no "off" button to stop the mass of people from protesting the current societal model.

What will come, is either a change to include everyone again, or more totalitarian control to squash and silence the opposition to the status quo. People want to be more fairly included int he economic and political order, as a democracy. The elite from politics to academia need to include the working class rather than insult or demean them as lesser. Cultural, economic and political integration is what's needed and the Yellow Vests won't stop until society becomes more equalized.

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Thank you for your time and attention. Peace.

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