Double devaluations: Class, value and the rise of the right in the Global North

Abstract

This article builds on the contributions of anthropologists of Europe in discovering, tracing and explaining the neo-nationalist ascendancy of the last 20 years. It picks up on earlier publications to make a succinct case for a decidedly anthropological class analysis of this worldwide and world-shaking phenomenon, with a view mainly on Europe and the United States. It suggests the usefulness of a notion of ‘double devaluation’ in understanding and explaining recent rightward shifts in popular politics in the Global North, encompassing both rural and urban spaces.