France

I'm going to pretend this is about France.

It seems to me that the rise of right-wing populism in the western democracies springs from two causes. This sort of thing has happened before, and the nations have recovered, but this time it might be more fundamental. I am particularly interested in the Le Pen vote in France, where the Trump-figure drew her support from young voters.

France today is faced with two major problems.  The first is global warming, which has already set in motion civil wars and mass migrations, in which hungry people start to go where the food is. Populists detest immigrants. The second problem is that capitalism, as it replaces workers with robots, can no longer generate enough good jobs to keep people employed. France's standard model, where every adult works and earns a decent living, is starting to fail. Robots are cheaper than employees, and French capitalism works on the principle that cheaper expenses create profits. 

The first step is to admit that France has a problem and that the French need to consider some modifications.

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