The elite’s understanding of politics has remained stuck in this framework ever since. Politicians and voters have leaned into this so-called political reality, making it seem more real in the process. I hate the phrase “perception is reality,” but in politics it has the embodying force of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Like rival noble families in medieval Europe, elites competed for power and dominance on the arrogant assumption that their subjects were concerned with who ruled rather than what the rulers could achieve.
In 2018, the group More in Common published a massive report on “Hidden tribes“of American politics. The wealthiest and whitest groups were “devoted conservatives” (6%) and “progressive activists” (8%). These tribes dominate the media, parties, and higher education, and they dictate the competing narratives between red and blue, especially on cable TV. News and social media. At the same time, the vast majority of Americans resided in or were adjacent to the “exhausted majority.”
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However, these people “have no narrative,” as David Brooks said books at that time. “They have no coherent philosophical vision to organize their thinking and compel them to act.”
The lack of narrative may seem like a very postmodern problem, but in elite postmodern culture, postmodern problems are real problems.
It should be noted that Red vs. Blue America did not show up Out of nowhere. The 1990s were a time when the economy and government seemed to be working, at home and abroad. As a result, elites turned to the narcissism of small differences in order to achieve political and cultural gains. They remain obsessed with competing, often horrific, narratives.
This excludes most Americans. Gladiators in the news, editorial pages, academia, and their discerning viewers can afford these fights. Members of the exhausted majority are more interested in abstract efficiency.
I think this is the toast of the missing hidden unity.
That’s why we keep pushing established parties out of power: they get elected on the promise of competence, but are derailed – or seduced – by fan service, or by trolling the elites who dominate the national conversation.
There is a difference between competence and experience. One of the most profound political changes in recent years has been the disconnect between notions of certified expertise and real-world competence. This is not a new topic in American life, but the pandemic and the trend toward identity politics have amplified distrust of experts in unprecedented ways.
This is a particular problem for the left because it invests much more in reliability than the right. In fact, some progressives suddenly realized that they had invested too much in the country authority Of experts and very few in capacity Experts provide what people want from government, such as affordable housing, decent education, low crime, etc. New York Times Ezra Klein He says he is tired of defending the authority of government institutions. Rather, “I want them to work.”
One reason progressives find Trump so offensive is his utter inability to speak the language of experience — full of coded elite slogans. But Trump really shouts the language of efficiency.
I do not mean that he is actually qualified to judge. But he is effectively blunt in describing leaders, experts, and elites — of both parties — as stupid, ineffective, weak, and incompetent. He lost in 2020 because voters didn’t believe he was actually good at governing. He won in 2024 because an exhausted majority concluded that the Biden administration was bad at it. Nostalgia for the pre-pandemic, low-inflation economy was enough to convince voters that Trump drama is an acceptable price to pay for a good economy. Three out Of the four Americans who suffered “severe hardship” due to inflation, they voted for Trump.
Trump’s genius The most effective advertising — “Kamala is for them/them, President Trump is for you” — it was both a culture war of red meat and an argument that Harris was more concerned with elite concerns than everyday concerns.
If Trump can indeed form an efficient government, he may be able to make the Republican Party the majority party for a generation. For countless reasons, it is so large that it can be seen from space. But the opportunity is there, and it has been there all along.
Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch and host of the podcast The Remnant. His Twitter handle is @JonahDispatch.
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