Story highlights Fareed Zakaria: America is now divided along four lines, each one reinforcing the others

Capitalism, class, culture and communication explain Donald Trump's election victory

Fareed Zakaria is host of CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS." This article is adapted from the conclusion to "Why Trump Won." The views expressed are his own. Watch "Why Trump Won" Sunday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET.

(CNN) The real question of the 2016 presidential election isn't so much why did Donald Trump win, as why did he even get close?

After all, Trump was a totally unconventional candidate who broke all the rules and did things that would have destroyed anyone else running for president. So why did he break through?

Here's the answer: America is now divided along four lines, each one reinforcing the others. Call them the four Cs.

Fareed Zakaria

The first is capitalism. There was a time when the American economy moved in tandem with its middle class. As the economy grew, so did middle class employment and wages. But over the last few decades that link has been broken. The economy has been humming along, but it now enriches mostly those with education, training, and capital. The other Americans have been left behind.

place in society; and gays being accorded equal rights. All of this has meant new cultures and narratives have received national attention. And it's worried a segment of the older, white population, which fears that the national culture they grew up with is fading. One The second divide is about culture. In recent decades, we've seen large scale immigration; African-Americans and Hispanics rising to a more centralplace in society; and gays being accorded equal rights. All of this has meant new cultures and narratives have received national attention. And it's worried a segment of the older, white population, which fears that the national culture they grew up with is fading. One comprehensive study found that after party loyalty, the second strongest predictor of a Trump voter was "fears of cultural displacement."

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