Semi-liberal politics set up Trump victory
There is no doubt that the anti-globalisation trend is the main driving force behind the two events.
US citizens attributed the country’s high unemployment rate to the growing population of immigrants taking over local jobs. Hong Kong is worried that mainland China’s rapid economic growth may reduce the country’s economic dependence on Hong Kong, its semi-autonomous special administrative region.
However, besides economics, the article inspired me to look at the similarities between the two events from a political perspective. We should have a better understanding of semi-liberal politics.
As a “city upon a hill”, the United States was a symbol for democracy. And under “one country, two systems”, Hong Kong has also enjoyed a high degree of political freedom. However, Trump’s displeasure with the over-emphasis on political correctness and Beijing’s opposition to Hong Kong’s “umbrella movement” are pushing the people closer to semi-liberal politics.
This is not accidental. In The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856), Alexis de Tocqueville stressed that, “their yoke was the most intolerable where it was in fact lightest”. This means that a semi-liberal political system is more likely to be the breaking point of revolution.