The modern political landscape is unrecognizable compared to a few decades ago. I remember my mother turning to me in 2015 and telling me while chuckling that a talk show host named Donald Trump was running for president. I had never heard the name before - and well, here we are. Trump ran a distinctive campaign that laid the groundwork for our current political environment. Now in 2023, we have another candidate who would have been equally dismissed just ten years ago: Robert Kennedy Jr.

He has been a powerful political force since announcing his campaign earlier this year. In a general election against Joe Biden and Donald Trump, polls put Kennedy at 19% of the vote as an independent. His anti-vaccine positions and conspiratorial thinking would likely have invalidated his candidacy in the past. Now, Joe Biden, a man with unparalleled experience who has been a relatively effective president, is having his campaign threatened by someone with virtually no political experience. What has generated the dissatisfaction that has allowed left-field candidates to enter into political relevance?

In short, neoliberalism. While the term has become something of an insult in politics, it is the ideology of deregulation and market expansion that has governed American economic policy for fifty years. In the mid-twentieth century, the United States was relatively left-leaning in terms of domestic economics; there was Roosevelt’s New Deal and Johnson’s Great Society. However, things took a sharp turn under Reagan,  whose sweeping tax cuts were passed for large corporations and wealthy Americans. Additionally, the Federal Reserve lost a significant amount of its autonomy in order to facilitate the prioritization of economic growth. Subsequently, Clinton, despite being a Democrat, continued this trend. He deregulated a number of industries and continued the gutting of welfare programs that Reagan initiated. 

So where did all this leave the United States? Well, the GDP and stock market value have continued to rise at incredible rates. However, shifting our gaze to the well-being of working-class Americans presents a very different picture. Since 1970, gaps in income between the upper, middle, and lower classes have risen while the share of wealth held by the middle and lower classes has consistently declined. Similarly, the average pay of CEOs at the largest companies has increased by nearly 1400% since 1978 while the average pay of workers has stagnated, increasing by just 18%. To put things in perspective, today CEOs make 351 times as much as their typical employees; in 1978, that number was just 31. In addition, the federal minimum wage remains low and unwavering. If it had kept pace with productivity growth, it would be more than $21.50 today, roughly triple the current wage! 

The effect on public opinion has been unsurprising: Americans want to see change. Polling shows that 61% of Americans say there is too much economic inequality, and among that group, 81% say that the system requires major change or needs to be entirely rebuilt. In the years following Clinton, three presidents–Obama, Trump, and Biden–who had been committed to reviving the middle and working class, failed to make major economic reforms to the benefit of lower-income Americans. In the meantime, globalization has expanded, lowering the demand for American labor. Unions, a crucial tool of the working class to guarantee fair compensation and    working conditions, have seen their power melt away (Biden even forcibly blocked rail workers from striking last winter). Consequently, the number of Americans with negative views of both parties have more than quadrupled since 1990.

That brings us to Robert F. Kennedy Junior. RFK Jr. is running on a platform that promises the major systemic change people have clamoured for. Kennedy is marketing himself as a candidate for the people, highlighting policies that appeal directly to the exasperation of the working class. There are significant commitments to double the minimum wage, slash defence spending to pay for social programs, halve drug prices, and hold corporations accountable for union busting.

Notably, Kennedy has deemphasized divisive social issues such as abortion or LGBT policy within his campaign. While he does have official stances on them, they are not featured prominently in his ads, speeches, or website. Although these issues have come to dominate political discourse and do motivate voters, many Americans are tired of it. This is not to suggest that legislation on social issues is unimportant, but it is typically much narrower in scope than broader fiscal changes might be, making it less of a priority for a great number of voters. They want to see progress on more far-reaching systemic issues. It is to these disillusioned folks that RFK Jr. has catered his platform, garnering him support from both frustrated Democrats and Republicans. 

After COVID-19 drove economic hardship through the roof, people became more receptive to rhetoric that criticized the pharmaceutical companies that raked in obscene profits all the while. Therefore, when Kennedy talks about the dangers of vaccines and a desire to discard mandates, many react not with hostility or indifference, but enthusiasm. The position, along with his opposition to American intervention in Ukraine, has helped him court the support of right-wing voters. 

Kennedy has been criticized for his amplification of conspiracy theories and his total lack of experience in governance. However, his supporters could not be less phased by these attacks. They view his conspiratorial lines of thinking not as red flags but instead as warranted criticisms of a government that abandoned them and a media that does not effectively criticize that government. As for his inexperience, much like Trump in 2016, it allows him to be marketed as an outsider, uninfluenced by the special interests that run Washington.. It only adds insult to injury that the media has effectively blacklisted him. A Google search of his name will yield only article after article from legacy media outlets criticizing RFK for a host of different statements and positions. Unfortunately, they almost always fail to mention any other aspects of his platform, making the dismissal of him appear like nothing more than ignorance to his allies.

Even if you despise Robert Kennedy Jr. and see him only as a threat to democracy, science, and public discourse, it is undeniable that his success is representative of a fed-up nation. Americans are in economic anguish and face a political environment that seems to care for nothing more than discovering issues that will motivate voters, unconcerned with whether or not actual lasting and effectual change takes place. If you want to dismiss Kennedy because he is unstable, inexperienced, or because you think he has dangerous views, that’s all well and good. However, if you actually want to reduce the power he commands, listening is the only solution. Advocating for and passing meaningful economic policy that will bring restoration to the communities that are in dire need of it should be the first step in repairing American politics.