Friday, December 2, 2016

The reason for the electoral college

This is a pithy description of the difference between rural and urban areas to their inhabitants:
Moreover, this election shows the value of election by states. The tension nowadays is between big urban areas and rural areas. In the city, when workers lose their jobs due to immigration or trade, they can go down the street and get another job. In a rural area, when the factory shuts down, the town is devastated, and there are no other jobs to be had. The benefits of free trade are such that even Trump can't roll them back -- but as a nation we need to address the disproportionate impact changes have on rural communities. That rural communities can defend their interests is exactly why our Constitution is the way it is -- and why the President isn't chosen with a popular vote.

Something that old school leftists (say, from the 1920s through the 1950s) knew was that economic interests are the key determiner.  Since the 1960s, there has been an increasing emphasis on idealogical issues, to the detriment of economic ones.  This election has seen pocketbook issues return in a big way, and today's leftists are struggling to understand what's gone wrong with the world.  Any leftist from 1925 could tell them.

TL;DR: rural people aren't racist, they're just tired of getting economically screwed by leftists.

3 comments:

Archer said...

TL;DR: rural people aren't racist, they're just tired of getting economically screwed by urban leftists.

Edited for accuracy. ;)

Rural leftists still tend to be more "old school" than urban ones; economic issues override ideological "social justice" ones.

Richard said...

Rural people are also tired of being condescended to by urban leftists.

SiGraybeard said...

Even people who live in cities that aren't population over one million are tired of being condescended to by big city leftists.