“Democratic Elites Don’t Understand the Class Culture Gap”

https://newrepublic.com/article/165933/class-culture-gap-democratic-elites-economic-populism

by nullc • 4 years ago

6 8 4 years ago

newrepublic.com

PaulHoule3• 4 years ago

The "standard model" for race for progressives flies in the face of how political science works.

The founding fathers of the US were afraid that the majority would deprive the wealthy minority of its property but

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancur_Olson

found there wasn't much danger than that in a democracy because it's easy for a small privileged minority to organized to maintain and enlarge its privileges because it is so profitable to do so that it can do so even if only some members of the group organize. A large group finds it almost impossible, however, to organize to protect its own interests because it is inevitably less profitable from the viewpoint of the individual consumer.

In apartheid-era South Africa, for instance, we could say 10% of the population was white and 90% was black and income was initially distributed fairly, whites could double their standard of living by taking just 12% of the income from black people.

In the US it is more like 90% white and 10% black, and if whites took everything from blacks they could only increase their standard of living by 10%.

In apartheid South Africa racism enriches white greatly. In the US, not so much. White privilege means something very different in South Africa than the US. In South Africa racism is something white people did to benefit themselves.

In the US the 'benefits' of racism for whites are primarily psychological. LBJ said “I’ll tell you what’s at the bottom of it, If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.”

That is "white privilege" is firstly a scam at white people's expense that pushes them into voting for the Republican party indiscriminately and thus make politics noncompetitive. Secondly "white privilege" is a scam that makes politics noncompetitive within the left.

quantified• 4 years ago

Everything except the last paragraph, concur.

W.r.t. white privilege, there are probably definitions that are too far-fetched, but I’ve had my cop interactions and watched white and black cop interactions, and I’ve watched around other interactions, and there’s definitely a difference in how you’re treated.

PaulHoule3• 4 years ago

I agree that blacks get trouble from the cops but I'd use different language.

I'd say that black people have a stigma. I wouldn't say that white people have a privilege, at least if I didn't want those white people to vote Republican for the rest of their lives.

That is, if the right wing did a focus group to find the right word that would get white people to stop talking about race, they couldn't have picked a better one than "privilege".

95% of white people are not in the top 5% and frankly most of them feel like they have a lot less agency and a lot more responsibility than they like.

naijaboiler• 4 years ago

No the guy has way too many mistruths. America is not 90% white and 10% black.

Yes the benefits of white racism is psychological but it's also economic and legal. Please check out the copius data on employment and income gap for equivalently educated white and blacks. Check out ongoing disparities in the legal system at all levels between black and white.

To say white privilege is nonexistent is US is to be extremely ignorant.

“Democratic Elites Don’t Understand the Class Culture Gap”

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