Ross Douthat’s New York Times column of February 1 is so clearly wrong that you have to wonder what led him astray. Douthat’s inspiration is an article by Jonathan Chait complaining of a rise in political correctness connected with various forms of identity politics. From this, Douthat takes a leap over a chasm of evidence to the conclusion that the left’s energy is cultural, not economic.
He attributes this perceived development to the decline of the Occupy Movement, to the control of Congress blocking liberal economic proposals especially those that involve redistribution, and to the success of the same sex marriage movement which leads those on the left toward the conclusion that cultural efforts based outside of Washington can be successful.
What’s wrong with this picture? It isn’t wrong in believing that efforts to combat discrimination on the basis of race and sex are important components of progressives. It is transparently wrong in supposing that the triumph of the Republicans has shut down the economic energy of the progressive left. Indeed, Douthat refers to the large number of books sold by Thomas Piketty and the popularity of Elizabeth Warren, but dismisses them on the ground that Congress will block their proposals. The difficulty with this move is that his claim is about the energy of the left, not about the continuing ability of the Republicans to block proposals in Congress.
The claim is blind to the live populist movement that not only fuels the popularity of Elizabeth Warren, but also has led President Obama to campaign against the Congress on economic grounds (from junior college subsidies supported by taxes on the wealthy to the minimum wage). But there is more. A recent Gallop poll shows that 2/3 of the American people are dissatisfied with the distribution of wealth; Democrats have moved further to the left (though their reliance on the contributions of big money limits their ability to redistribute); and Republican presidential candidates have been forced to identify inequality as an important issue. See here.
Is there anyone who thinks that Republicans are the party of choice to deal with the problem of inequality? When inequality is a major issue the Republicans are doomed. The triumphalism displayed in Douthat’s column is a simple exercise of whistling in a grave yard. The suggestion that the economic energy of the left has dissipated is simply preposterous.
Psychologists point to the phenomenon of motivated ignorance. People frequently believe what they want to believe, and the facts will not get in the way. Think of climate change, the impact of vaccinations and the like. They want to cling to their political identity. Liberals and conservatives display this tendency. Douthat may have been enjoying a case of motivated ignorance on February 1. Or he may just have been experiencing an instance of tunnel vision. In any event, the economic energy is there, and the day of reckoning will come.
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