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As it stands any broad based working class revolt in the US can be effectively nullified by bringing up a culture war issue like abortion, homosexuality, etc. and using it to split the electorate. This has been true for a long time. These issues evoke emotional responses that easily override any rational concern for one's economic well being.

Whether intentional or not, the culture war continues to be the most effective tool in history for sidelining and fragmenting any struggle for economic equality. This is because culture war issues do not slice the electorate along the same lines as economic issues.



This is certainly intentional, and is well documented in the book and documentary What's the Matter with Kansas? by Thomas Frank.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What%27s_the_Matter_with_Kansa...

Additionally, Kevin Kruse of Princeton has written a great book called One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America. An intro article on this book can be found here:

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/04/corporate-am...


Red State Revolt (referenced in parent) has material in it showing how in practice class battles have the potential to cut across other social questions like party loyalty for example. There was a new-found unity in the teachers strikes. Economics is the sturdiest division in society because it is most rooted in the day to day life of everybody. Some people are bosses, and some people have to work for them 8+ hours every day.



HN 2019: downvoted for noting plainly observable phenomenon.


Please don't break the site guidelines by posting like this.

Vote totals fluctuate. When users see an unfairly downvoted comment, they often give corrective upvotes. Then the comment goes back to positive, but a post like yours here lingers on, orphaned and inaccurate.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html




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