Written by Sasha Ivanov.

The native working class’s dissatisfaction with the establishment is nothing new in Western nations. From the slums of Marseille that first voted for Le Pen in the ‘80s, to the collapse of the Red and Blue walls in the North of England and the American Midwest, there has been a major realignment from the socialist Left to the populist Right. The current rise of the AfD in the poorer parts of East Germany is only the most recent expression of this phenomenon.

Conservative parties, which originally represented the church-going aristocrats of a bygone age, have been largely unable to accommodate the needs of their new, largely secular, working-class base. The gap has so far been filled by demagogues like Donald Trump. But how would a reasonable, scientifically-informed, technology-driven Right respond? Could such a Right answer the needs of this disenfranchised segment of the population, and turn their anger into a productive movement?

Unfortunately, the Tech Right has shown itself to be completely detached from ordinary people. This is perfectly illustrated in the reactions of many right-wing intellectuals to “Rich Men North of Richmond”. The neo-bluegrass song was uploaded to YouTube by an until-then-unknown artist. The beautiful voice and acerbic lyrics captivated millions of Americans and took the internet by storm. The simple lyrics touch on the deaths of despair (“Young men are puttin’ themselves six feet in the ground”), censorship (“Lord knows they all just wanna have total control”), the Epstein scandal (“not just minors on an island somewhere”), and welfare abuse (“the obese milking welfare”). The musical style is obviously reminiscent of the communist folk idol Woody Guthrie, and is symbolic of the political realignment: Guthrie has been dead for more than 50 years, and today’s leftists despise anything working-class, including this song.

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