Attention Economy


Friday, November 8, 2024

An Intelligent Take on the State of American Politics

Ben Rhodes:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/08/opinion/republicans-democrats-trump.html
In the West, neoliberalism — that blend of free trade, deregulation and deference to financial markets — hollowed-out communities while enriching a global oligarchy. Meanwhile, a homogenized and often crass popular culture eroded traditional national and religious identities. After 9/11, the war on terror was embraced by autocrats such as Mr. Putin, who used it as a frame to justify power grabs while forever wars fueled mass migration. The financial crisis came through like a hurricane, wrecking the lives of people already struggling to get by while the rich profited on the back end. Then social media’s explosion offered a vehicle to spread grievance and conspiracy theories, allowing populist leaders to radicalize their followers with the precision of an algorithm”. 

Related:
The Democrats Need Another Bill Clinton
https://www.wsj.com/politics/the-democrats-need-another-bill-clinton-21fe5cb1
To return from the political wilderness, the party must reconnect with working-class voters on both style and substance. Clinton’s success in the 1990s shows how.