By David Roberts. Read the whole thread, but here are the highlights.
All the people who think there was some noble, credible US conservatism that has "fallen," or been "taken over" by Trumpism, tell me: why was it so weak? Why did it offer so little resistance? Why did it devolve so *easily* into reactionary madness? Doesn't it make you wonder?
Pizza's cooking, so: my theory of conservatism. Basically, in any society, there's a group/class/demographic that has power & privileges, sometimes economic, sometimes relating to race or caste. And every such group has a story about why their place at the top is justified. The US was founded on equality -- at least that's what it said on the tin -- so its ruling class (white property owning males) came up w/ a story about property rights, "free markets," "small government," & federalism. They *earned* their privileges! . . .
But in all societies, when that privileged class begins feeling threatened, outnumbered, & insecure, the politesse fades. The high-toned philosophical justifications drop out. Raw tribalism takes over. The class is always, first & foremost, for its own continued hegemony.
And this has basically been the course of US conservatism in the 21st century: from a self-serious, high-falutin' "party of ideas" to a raw, raging army fighting for white hegemony. Once they got scared, all pretense of "free market" & "family values" went right out the window.
2 comments:
While that certainly applies to the top decile it's a tortured logic to argue for it below that level. These people's interests are not aligned, and race was literally invented to split lower deciles into mutually hostile groups. Despite that fact, there is a significant history of lower decile blacks and whites forming alliances based on class interests. The establishment (i.e. those with significant structural power and wealth) has found this so threatening that they killed both Dr King and Fred Hampton to prevent it. Among other things.
Their weapons have grown more sophisticated, with a media-driven focus on identity and charging people like me with "class reductionism." Either way it's the same old game - let's you and him fight - to make sure that nothing fundamental changes. And all wealthy people are equally involved.
The current chaos in the GOP is actually its voting base waking up. Most of them never understood the economic program and, in starting to see it, loath it. The splitting program has been working on them for generations now so you can't expect them to just snap out of it, but anyone paying attention can see just how much the GOP base voters despise their elected officials. The question, then, is which party will get the plutocrats and their PMC toadies, and which one will get the rest of us.
"Cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of [plutocracy]."
Post a Comment