An Open Letter to the Democratic Party: (part two)

Still not convinced? How about this?

Much in this theory is consistent with recent trends in the United States. Unions have declined. Income inequality has increased. The educational opportunity gap has widened. The political mood has shifted to the right. More and more, the poor have dropped out of politics.

Republicans might respond by pushing back against the assertion that working-class Republican voters are making a mistake. After all, perhaps these voters actually understand what a bunch of pointy-headed academics from Harvard and the London School of Economics (where Iversen and Soskice, respectively, teach) never seem to grasp: that free market policies produce more prosperity for everyone, and that too much government regulation is slowing down the economy. Or maybe the struggling working-class voters think Democrats have done little to help them in recent years, so why not vote Republican. And besides, aren't the Democrats too in thrall to their wealthiest donors to do anything really big to lift the fortunes of those who are worse off? Aren't Democrats just a bunch of elitists who don't really care about the poor?

By the logic of Iversen and Soskice, this is exactly the uncertainty that makes it hard for low-information voters to determine who actually represents their interests. They hear a bunch of competing arguments over economic policy and government performance. How do they know which to believe?

To be fair, surveys do show that Americans tend to be willing to tolerate a certain amount of inequality, especially to preserve free enterprise and individualism. But Americans also significantly underestimate the amount of inequality in society, and would probably be much more unhappy if they accurately estimated it. After taxes and transfers, the US is the most unequal of the advanced industrial democracies.

Still not convinced? Read the rest of the quoted link. If you’re still not convinced, either have a soul implant or just get the hell out of the way.

http://www.vox.com/polyarchy/2015/11/4/9665842/republican-inequality-future-loop

End of part two.