Where Do We Go Next?

Author: David Perell URL: https://www.perell.com/blog/where-do-we-go-next One-line: A post-2016-election reaction piece reading Trump’s victory as a symptom of rising global populism and inequality, and arguing that the digital revolution — not a return to the past — is the path through it.

Key claims

• Trump’s election reflects rising populism across the developed world. Society is segregated on and off the internet; a lack of empathy bred by racial and class segregation is widening the divide between rural America and dense urban pockets (Politics).
• The middle class feels locked out. Behind a curtain of free-trade agreements and GDP growth, economic growth looks like a zero-sum game with the gains flowing to untrustworthy elites. Manufacturing jobs leave; big banks got bailed out; faith in the American Dream eroded (The New American Dream).
• The tone set at the top matters. Quoting Pete Buttigieg: “A big part of why the presidency matters is the tone that it sets… sending the overall signals about what kind of country we are.”
• History repeats its playbook of disruption. The printing press displaced the omnipotent church via books and literacy; democracy replaced tyrant kings; America was born of colonial rebellion. Progress never comes easily — the industrial revolution sparked two world wars (Progress Studies).
• A post-American world inches closer. The collapse of mainstream media and “impenetrable bipartisan political parties” will give way to postmodern systems reflecting a new world order. Turning back the clock “would not make America great again.”
• The prescription is participation. Challenge the status quo, reject intolerance, speak up — “Let the traumatic shock of Trump’s presidency inspire action.”

Notable quotes

“History’s classic solution is either politics distributing prosperity or revolution distributing poverty.” — Naval Ravikant

“The world may feel different today, but the playbook of positive change repeats itself.”

“One voice can change a room… and if it can change a nation, it can change the world. Your voice can change the world.” — Barack Obama

How it connects

• David Perell — an of-the-moment 2016 political essay, more reactive than his later evergreen writing.
• Politics / The New American Dream — populism as a response to inequality and lost economic faith.
• Naval Ravikant — the framing quote: prosperity distributed by politics vs. poverty distributed by revolution.
• Progress Studies — the recurring claim that progress arrives through crisis, not despite it.
• Pete Buttigieg / Barack Obama — the voices Perell leans on for tone and agency.

Verbatim source notes — restored from Roam, 2026-09-21

• Choosing to ignore these tectonic shifts is a flawed path forward. America should never return to its old ways. Turning back the clock would not make America great again. The world may feel different today, but the playbook of positive change repeats itself.
• The wickedness of Trumpism has shown its face since the election. Trump’s appointed Myron Ebell, a climate change denier to oversee the EPA transition. Racism is in full force across the country. Black freshmen at the University of Pennsylvania were targeted with racial slurs and hateful imagery depicting lynchings. Hispanics and Muslims are being threatened and harassed. Trump’s hateful rhetoric is normalizing. Trickle Down Racism
• The advancement of skills can’t keep up with the pace of technological change. #Upskilling
• “A big part of why the presidency matters is the tone that it sets. There’s no office like the Presidency when it comes to setting the overall tone and sending the overall signals about what kind of country we are.” Pete Buttigieg
• Donald Trump’s election is a reflection of the rising strength of populist movements throughout the developed world. Society is plagued by segregation on and off the internet. A lack of empathy, a byproduct of racial and class segregation is expanding the political divide between rural America and dense urban pockets. This illuminates the need for more equal distribution of wealth to achieve social stability, technological progress, human health, well-being, and sustenance.
• A post-American world inches closer every day. The digital revolution represents the next wave of meaningful change. The collapse of mainstream media and impenetrable bipartisan political parties will give way to postmodern systems that reflect a new world order. Technology, complex data, exponential information and globalization are inevitable forces of change.
• The printing press displaced the once omnipotent church with the revolution of books and literacy. Democracy and progressive philosophies replaced tyrant kings. America itself was born when 18th century colonial rebels rallied against taxation without representation.
• While crises are tragic, they provide a rare opportunity for reflection and improvement. Black Lives Matter
• Can we blame them? **Dependable manufacturing jobs are leaving for foreign lands. Big banks were bailed out after destroying the lives of millions of Americans who’ve lost faith in the American Dream. **Meanwhile, mainstream elites bowed to the altars of technological progress and trickle down economics. Each advancement has perpetuated greater inequality and contributed to the frustration. The battle between nationalists and technologists is here to stay. The New American Dream
• Challenge the status quo. Remember that all human beings are fully human. Reject intolerance. Fight climate change. Speak up. Let the traumatic shock of Trump’s presidency inspire action.
• “One voice can change a room, and if one voice can change a room, then it can change a city, and if it can change a city, it can change a state, and if it change a state, it can change a nation, and if it can change a nation, it can change the world. Your voice can change the world.”  —  Barack Obama
• Now the system is broken. A mass revolution is about to begin. Plutocrats vs. the middle class — globalism vs. nationalism — technologists vs. luddites.
• Progress never comes easily. The industrial revolution sparked two catastrophic world wars, a debilitating climate and waves of communist threats. Progress Studies
• The middle class feels stuck behind a curtain of free trade agreements and GDP growth. To them, economic growth is a zero sum game with all the gains going to untrustworthy elites.