You can regard the depressing denouement of the COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan at the weekend as a sort of diplomatic echo of the U.S. election result three weeks earlier.

In the U.S., progressives found themselves blocked by a surprisingly strong coalition of both traditional Republicans, and a faction of working class and non-White supporters whom they’d regarded, perhaps naively, as their natural allies. At the United Nations climate conference in Baku, rich nations found that efforts to reduce their own emissions and fund climate programs elsewhere in the world bought them little favor with developing countries most at risk of global warming.

Both situations are powerful examples of aspirational politics. Since the 19th century, conservatives have marketed themselves to the electorate by arguing that their policies were the best way to achieve the wealth and independence sought by working-class voters.