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> Over the course of the last decade, a seductive idea has conquered the discourse: the notion that the sudden surge in political instability in democracies lik
by quantified 2y ago
> Over the course of the last decade, a seductive idea has conquered the discourse: the notion that the sudden surge in political instability in democracies like the United States has been due to “elite overproduction” and the subsequent formation of a “surplus elite.”
The evidence for that is non-existent. How many MAGA and Tea Party voters are trying to be elite and how many hate "the elites"? Discourse is about immigrants, imaginary crime waves, corporate greed, "wokeness", etc.
- AnimalMuppet 2y agoI think that's not the right way to look at it. I think the theory would be more like, there's all these wanna-be elites who are locked out of political power by the mainstream Democratic and Republican Parties; they instead lead "insurrections" like MAGA or the Bernie Bros to make an end run around the established gatekeepers and reach for political power. Mind you, I don't necessarily agree with that idea. But I think that is the actual claim.
- quantified 2y agoI have come across this notion exactly once in the discourse so I don't think it's "taken over" Another way to look at it is that inequality is too high, even for the top 0.2% that can't break into the top 0.1%. Being civil increases inequality. It's a curse of civilzation.