Why Did Trump Win? Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America

This public lecture marks the publication of Joan C. Williams latest book, White Working Class: Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America.

Much analysis has focused on the fact that Donald Trump won the U.S. Election because liberals lost the white working class vote. The same might well be said about Brexit. That being the case, what exactly does the left need to do to regain those votes? And can it do so without ignoring the needs of immigrant and other minority groups? Joan C. Williams, whose evaluation of Trump's electoral victory in the Harvard Business Review has been read over 3.5 million times, will explain how the left can regain white working class votes while remaining true to their principles.

Joan C Williams latest book addresses why so much of the elite's analysis of the white working class is misguided and rooted in class cluelessness; dismissing white working-class motivations as racist or xenophobic and wrongly conflating 'working class' with 'poor'.

Joan Williams (@JoanCWilliams) is Professor of Law at UC Hastings Foundation and Chair and Director of the Center for WorkLife Law.

Michael McQuarrie is Associate Professor in Sociology at LSE.

The International Inequalities Institute at LSE (@LSEInequalities) brings together experts from many LSE departments and centres to lead critical and cutting edge research to understand why inequalities are escalating in numerous arenas across the world, and to develop critical tools to address these challenges.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEUSclass

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LSE holds a wide range of events, covering many of the most controversial issues of the day, and speakers at our events may express views that cause offence. The views expressed by speakers at LSE events do not reflect the position or views of the London School of Economics and Political Science.