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A review by hoboken
Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? by Thomas Frank
4.0
Written by the author of “What's the Matter with Kansas,the subtitle of this book could be “What's the Matter with the Democrats.” If you're a lefty like me, this book will raise your blood pressure. Written in early 2016 before the Presidential nominating conventions when Trump (“outrageous”) and Cruz (“a one-man wrecking crew”) were still in contention, it illustrates how we ended up with Trump in the White House. It's clear, specific, well foot-noted, and devastating. In his own words:
“Even if Democrats do succeed in winning the presidency in 2016 . . . it won't save us. Their leadership faction has no intention of doing what the situation requires.”
His thesis is that the prolabor, prounion, party of FDR that brought us jobs, houses, good schools, and the GI Bill has been replaced by a group of people who worship meritocracy, a system in which inequality isn't a bug; it's a feature. It's the old Horatio Alger story—with luck and pluck and lots of brains, you can get a good education, a great job with bonuses, make a fortune, and you'll deserve it because you're smart and creative and know what the country needs. If you don't manage this, if you're stuck in Ferguson or Flint or some burned-out coal-mining town, well, what's the matter with you. You deserve your hard-scrabble Uber driver, adjunct professor, gig economy life. You can always get a microloan. Your lender will make lots of money, but you won't get much of anywhere.
As a result not only is our collective American hand-basket plummeting faster and faster, the Democrats can't win elections anymore. Trump's in the White House, and all we get from the Democratic party is more Tom-Friedman-happy talk about how we all just need to be flexible in our new flat world.
“The direction the Democrats have chosen to follow. . . has been a failure for both the nation and for their own partisan health. . . What else are we to call it when the left party . . . chooses to confront an epic economic breakdown by talking hopefully about entrepreneurship and innovation. When the party of professionals repeatedly falls for bad, self-serving ideas like bank deregulation, the 'creative class,' and empowerment through bank loans? When the party of the common man basically allows aristocracy to return. . . They combine self-righteousness and class privilege in a way that Americans find stomach-churning. . . And every two years, they simply assume that being non-Republican is sufficient to rally the voters . . to their standard.” It didn't work this time, did it?
Yet the Democratic party won't reform itself. Starting a real competitive third party is just about impossible. And reviving organized labor, our one hope against inequality, isn't about to happen. Telling the truth about this failure is our only hope which Franks tries, with devastating specifics, to do in the hope that liberals will listen.
“Even if Democrats do succeed in winning the presidency in 2016 . . . it won't save us. Their leadership faction has no intention of doing what the situation requires.”
His thesis is that the prolabor, prounion, party of FDR that brought us jobs, houses, good schools, and the GI Bill has been replaced by a group of people who worship meritocracy, a system in which inequality isn't a bug; it's a feature. It's the old Horatio Alger story—with luck and pluck and lots of brains, you can get a good education, a great job with bonuses, make a fortune, and you'll deserve it because you're smart and creative and know what the country needs. If you don't manage this, if you're stuck in Ferguson or Flint or some burned-out coal-mining town, well, what's the matter with you. You deserve your hard-scrabble Uber driver, adjunct professor, gig economy life. You can always get a microloan. Your lender will make lots of money, but you won't get much of anywhere.
As a result not only is our collective American hand-basket plummeting faster and faster, the Democrats can't win elections anymore. Trump's in the White House, and all we get from the Democratic party is more Tom-Friedman-happy talk about how we all just need to be flexible in our new flat world.
“The direction the Democrats have chosen to follow. . . has been a failure for both the nation and for their own partisan health. . . What else are we to call it when the left party . . . chooses to confront an epic economic breakdown by talking hopefully about entrepreneurship and innovation. When the party of professionals repeatedly falls for bad, self-serving ideas like bank deregulation, the 'creative class,' and empowerment through bank loans? When the party of the common man basically allows aristocracy to return. . . They combine self-righteousness and class privilege in a way that Americans find stomach-churning. . . And every two years, they simply assume that being non-Republican is sufficient to rally the voters . . to their standard.” It didn't work this time, did it?
Yet the Democratic party won't reform itself. Starting a real competitive third party is just about impossible. And reviving organized labor, our one hope against inequality, isn't about to happen. Telling the truth about this failure is our only hope which Franks tries, with devastating specifics, to do in the hope that liberals will listen.