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Polarized politics in the Scrooge economy
From the article:
PERHAPS THE most often-used words to describe U.S. politics in the Trump era are “polarization” and “volatility.”
Both were on display during the November 6 midterm election: The majority of the electorate swung sharply against Trump and the Republicans (volatility), while the high midterm turnout showed that the bases of both mainstream political parties mobilized (polarization)…..
On this point, there is evidence linking the growth of economic inequality to political polarization, according to Stanford University researcher Christos Makridis:
[T]he evidence indicates not only a strong correlation between income inequality and political polarization but also potential causality: Greater income inequality can amplify political tensions by raising polarization. These results imply that income inequality can indirectly affect economic outcomes by increasing the fraction of people who identify as extreme liberal.
That the political system doesn’t necessarily register this increase in “extreme liberals” may point to two other well-established findings: that poorer people with more liberal views tend to be nonvoters, and that the political system reflects the views of the wealthy much more than those of the non-wealthy.
Both were on display during the November 6 midterm election: The majority of the electorate swung sharply against Trump and the Republicans (volatility), while the high midterm turnout showed that the bases of both mainstream political parties mobilized (polarization)…..
On this point, there is evidence linking the growth of economic inequality to political polarization, according to Stanford University researcher Christos Makridis:
[T]he evidence indicates not only a strong correlation between income inequality and political polarization but also potential causality: Greater income inequality can amplify political tensions by raising polarization. These results imply that income inequality can indirectly affect economic outcomes by increasing the fraction of people who identify as extreme liberal.
That the political system doesn’t necessarily register this increase in “extreme liberals” may point to two other well-established findings: that poorer people with more liberal views tend to be nonvoters, and that the political system reflects the views of the wealthy much more than those of the non-wealthy.
To read more:
https://socialistworker.org/2018/11/21/polarized-politics-in-the-scrooge-economy