In his Friday New York Times column, economist Paul Krugman discussed the likely role that "horizontal inequality" -- that is, inequality between equally wealthy groups of racially or culturally defined groups -- will play in the upcoming presidential election.
According to Krugman, most minority groups harbor "the suspicion that the same racial animus that drive many people to vote Republican could, all too easily, turn against other groups with a long history of persecution." He further noted that the rise in anti-Semitism among Trump supporters is both proof of the validity of these suspicions, as well as just the tip of a terrible iceberg:
[T]his is going to be mostly an election about identity. The Republican nominee represents little more than the rage of white men over a changing nation. And he’ll be facing a woman — yes, gender is another important dimension in this story — who owes her nomination to the very groups his base hates and fears.
The odds are that Mrs. Clinton will prevail, because the country has already moved a long way in her direction. But one thing is for sure: It’s going to be ugly...
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