I recently read an essay in the Atlantic by George Packer on how America has been fractured into four tribes: Free America, Smart America, Real America, and Just America. Free America is Reagan’s vision of America and is built on a religious faith in markets. Smart America is the meritocracy, well-educated experts, the coastal elites. Real America is the hard working folks in the heartland who have been left behind by economic change. Just America are folks who have been left behind by systemic injustice. Think Black Lives Matter.
My head aligns with Smart America and my heart aligns with Just America. I don’t have a problem with free enterprise until it turns into greed. But there are several reasons I am philosophically opposed to Free America: it’s anti-government streak and aversion to taxation, even for necessary things. Hatred of government and aversion to taxes are why we can’t have the good things that other developed countries enjoy.
The problem that I have with Real America is their contempt for elites and knee jerk rejection of expert opinion. The sheeple just gobble up misinformation and disinformation from right-wing propaganda machines and think that they are thinking for themselves. I really should have more empathy because they have been left behind by economic progress, but politicians use them to maintain a tyranny of the minority. I consider the anti-majoritarian structure of our government a bug rather a feature, and the right wing has leveraged it to the max.
Smart America are the folks that I want to be in charge. They are highly-educated and understand policy. The downside is that many of the elite are members of the lucky sperm club and have had advantages in life. Yes, they got there because of hard work but they also had better access to opportunities.
Packer’s critique of Just America is that it has devolved into identity politics. But my opinion is although America is not a racist country in theory, in practice not so much.
Over the past forty years, Free America (Reagan and the Bushes) has been the dominant ideology. Smart America (Clinton and Obama) has also had its turn. In four short years, Real America (Trump) has polarized the country to the point where democracy is threatened. My hope is that when the millennials and zoomers take over, Just America will have its turn in the sun.
The four Americas have both good and bad traits and Packer’s premise in the Last Best Hope is that the four rival groups can be integrated and our better angels will create an Equal America.
Equity - Environment - Economic Justice 