The war against elites

Writing in Le Monde diplomatique, Tom Frank explores the "mystery of the United States," how right-wing populism has reshaped the political landscape to the extent that middle America won't bat an eye over George W. Bush's wealthy pedigree, yet consistently rail against the tyranny of liberals, be they in media, politics, or entertainment.

As Frank observes, "wealth is today concentrated in fewer hands than it has been since the 1920s; workers have less power over the conditions under which they toil than ever before in our lifetimes; and the corporation has become the most powerful actor in our world."

Yet many Americans embrace a worldview that pays little attention to these developments. With "backlash populism," animosity is directed not towards the centers of economic and political power, but is channeled into disagreements about taste and consumption.

Frank puts it this way:

Instead of rebuking the powerful directly, it vituperates against the snobbish and delicate things that the powerful are believed to enjoy: special kinds of coffee, high-end restaurants, Ivy League educations, vacations in Europe, and always, always, imported cars.

Against these maddeningly sissified tastes, backlash populism posits a true-blue heartland where real Americans eat red meat in big slabs, know all about farming, drink Budweiser, work hard with their hands and drive domestic cars. (In November 2000 the Democrats lost in the heartland but won in cosmopolitan California, New York and Massachusetts.) Why the focus on consumer goods? It switches the political polarity of class resentment: the items identified with the elite are also identified with people who have advanced degrees, a reliably liberal constituency. Liberals become the snobs, and Republicans become the plain people in their majestic millions. That rightwing oil millionaires in Houston or Wichita might also vacation in Europe, drink fancy coffee and drive Jaguars is simply not considered, as if contrary to nature.

This phenomenon explains, in part, why lower income and blue collar types can be supportive of political figures and policies that run contrary to their own interests. It is also a major reason why the American left has become so demoralized over the past 30 years.