Jacobin Radio Jacobin Radio: Trumpism as Counterrevolution w/ Robert Brenner and Dylan Riley
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Jan 27, 2026 Dylan Riley, a UC Berkeley sociologist who studies class formation, and Robert Brenner, an economic historian of capitalism, discuss Trumpism as a coherent counterrevolutionary project. They trace its roots to long economic stagnation and a split between credentialed and non‑credentialed workers. They focus on attacks on universities, expansion of the security state as jobs policy, AI displacing credentialed labor, and the unraveling of the international order.
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Postwar Hegemony As Strategic Choice
- After WWII the U.S. chose a cooperative hegemonic order to secure long-term dominance rather than monopolize industry.
- Robert Brenner argues this 'enlightened altruism' built allies' competitiveness while preserving U.S. global leadership.
High Dollar Pushed U.S. Toward Finance
- A high dollar, free capital movement, and focus on foreign investment pushed U.S. capitalism toward finance and away from manufacturing.
- Brenner links that shift to Wall Street becoming the nerve center of American capitalism and declining domestic competitiveness.
Working Class Split: Credentialed vs Non
- Growth slowdown since around 1980 produced a split in the wage-earning population into credentialed and non-credentialed groups.
- Dylan Riley links financialized growth and expanded services to benefits for credentialed workers while excluding manufacturing and non-credentialed workers.
