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A review by jolietjane
What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America by Thomas Frank
4.0
This is a good book that has a lot of flaws. Whats The Matter With Kansas was written in the Bush era of 2004, but its still eerily relevant today. Thomas Frank predicted a lot of modern political discourse here.
The topics:
- Conservatives using culture wars to distract from wealthy people waging class wars
This one is pretty simple, Basically, this is something we have known for a long time. Conservatives have spent a long time getting poor people on their side and voting against their own interests by appealing to one issue voters and stirring up a latest "culture war" drama.
- the weakening of unions and subsequent erosion of union heavy rural areas
You get some really fascinating walkthroughs on the collapse of several Kansas towns and cities.
- Conservative pushing the idea that that the "wealthy elite" is more of a "vibe" vs actually about having money.
the elites are Starbucks-drinking urbanites who make 30k a year. Donald Trump is an everyman, as is Elomn Musk. This is an extremely interesting point made that feels MOST relevant today because of how much more true it is. Conservatives manage to shield themselves from being considered part of the ruling class because they talk about "drinking beers and praising jesus".
The most interesting part of the book was Frank walking us through the wasteland of Kansas- a once thriving socialist/union-heavy state that has fallen into a deep state of disrepair. Frank is from Kansas, and his deep love for the state is extremely evident. Its a painful experience seeing what it has morphed into for him. Beyond that though, this look into small towns is unique and surprising. I feel like I learned a lot.
It's also fun seeing the SMALL ways the books are dated. I had not heard the phrase Neocon in so long.
The bad parts are that Thomas Frank trends to RANT. He dedicates several chapters at the end of his book to preaching. I AGREE with everything he says, but its monotonous after awhile. Luckily, most of this is the last few chapters and is easily to avoid if you want to enjoy the rest of this actually...very beautiful book on the changing landscapes of rural America from an anticapitalist perspective.
The topics:
- Conservatives using culture wars to distract from wealthy people waging class wars
This one is pretty simple, Basically, this is something we have known for a long time. Conservatives have spent a long time getting poor people on their side and voting against their own interests by appealing to one issue voters and stirring up a latest "culture war" drama.
- the weakening of unions and subsequent erosion of union heavy rural areas
You get some really fascinating walkthroughs on the collapse of several Kansas towns and cities.
- Conservative pushing the idea that that the "wealthy elite" is more of a "vibe" vs actually about having money.
the elites are Starbucks-drinking urbanites who make 30k a year. Donald Trump is an everyman, as is Elomn Musk. This is an extremely interesting point made that feels MOST relevant today because of how much more true it is. Conservatives manage to shield themselves from being considered part of the ruling class because they talk about "drinking beers and praising jesus".
The most interesting part of the book was Frank walking us through the wasteland of Kansas- a once thriving socialist/union-heavy state that has fallen into a deep state of disrepair. Frank is from Kansas, and his deep love for the state is extremely evident. Its a painful experience seeing what it has morphed into for him. Beyond that though, this look into small towns is unique and surprising. I feel like I learned a lot.
It's also fun seeing the SMALL ways the books are dated. I had not heard the phrase Neocon in so long.
The bad parts are that Thomas Frank trends to RANT. He dedicates several chapters at the end of his book to preaching. I AGREE with everything he says, but its monotonous after awhile. Luckily, most of this is the last few chapters and is easily to avoid if you want to enjoy the rest of this actually...very beautiful book on the changing landscapes of rural America from an anticapitalist perspective.