Political Obsession

Should we be obsessed with politics? Is political obsession really about our lives, or is it cultivated by skillful marketing of grievance, to raise more and more money? Are we using our cognitive surplus and our energies to fight abstractions, when we should be dealing with real problems, e.g. climate change? Do minorities care about ideology? Do they care about culture wars? What do people want? People want safety, a degree of comfort, a sense of stability. Do they get either from the far left or far right? Is the real war between those who espouse cultural socialism vs those who espouse cultural liberalism? Cultural liberalism is the belief that individuals and groups should have the freedom to express themselves, should not be compelled to endorse beliefs that they oppose, and should be treated equally by social norms and the law. Cultural socialism is the idea that public policy should be used to redistribute wealth, power, and self-esteem from the privileged groups in society to disadvantaged groups, especially racial and sexual minorities, and women. This justifies restrictions on the freedom and equal treatment of members of advantaged groups. “For some Democratic voters, a commitment to cultural socialism overrides their historical defense of free speech. Most Republicans disagree with that position. They also oppose what they perceive to be the denigration of white Americans and the nation’s past, which underlie their support for a new politics of civil rights in schools and workplaces.” ~ Eric Kaufmann, “The Politics of the Culture Wars in Contemporary America”