You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by anthofer
Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People by Thomas Frank
5.0
This is a book finished in early 2016 that had absolutely no hope for the forthcoming Clinton presidency, even as it predicted that she would win. His indictment of Democratic politics over the past 45 years, from Carter to Clinton II, is pretty complete and copiously documented with research and interviews, mostly with union organizers in the Midwest and elite liberals on the coasts.
Frank doesn't believe that technocratic, meritocratic, virtue-signaling, coastal liberalism is all bad. He's spent most of his career documenting the worse thing: anything and everything the American Right has done. But at this extremely strange historical moment of January 9, 2021, when Democrats could once and for all expose the utter insanity of the opposite party, I worry that they will, once again, turn to the experts and ask them what to do. And instead, all they have to do is pass popular, simple things like checks and unemployment benefits and jobs programs (not job training!) and help unions collectively bargain for health and safety. Fully fund universal Pre-K and mandate fully funded paternity and maternity leave. Socialize medicine, simply, fairly, and quickly.
Yes, they should turn to experts to solve a pandemic, duh. But forget about the CEOs and the economists, forget about the think tanks, forget about the noble rich. Go ask the 75% of Americans without a college degree what they need to feel better, and fucking give it to them.
Frank doesn't believe that technocratic, meritocratic, virtue-signaling, coastal liberalism is all bad. He's spent most of his career documenting the worse thing: anything and everything the American Right has done. But at this extremely strange historical moment of January 9, 2021, when Democrats could once and for all expose the utter insanity of the opposite party, I worry that they will, once again, turn to the experts and ask them what to do. And instead, all they have to do is pass popular, simple things like checks and unemployment benefits and jobs programs (not job training!) and help unions collectively bargain for health and safety. Fully fund universal Pre-K and mandate fully funded paternity and maternity leave. Socialize medicine, simply, fairly, and quickly.
Yes, they should turn to experts to solve a pandemic, duh. But forget about the CEOs and the economists, forget about the think tanks, forget about the noble rich. Go ask the 75% of Americans without a college degree what they need to feel better, and fucking give it to them.