The Loyalty Economy (🇺🇸 US-UK🇬🇧 Edition)

For years, political loyalty was treated as a cultural phenomenon, a matter of identity, tribe, and grievance. Increasingly, however, it appears to be functioning as an economic model.In today’s Republican Party, access, influence, and opportunity often flow less from expertise or performance than from demonstrated allegiance to a single political figure. The result is a system where loyalty itself becomes a form of currency, rewarded when it serves power and withdrawn when it does not.This essay explores how that model emerged, why it persists, and what happens when political institutions begin valuing personal allegiance more than competence, independence, or results.— DunneaginFollow the full essays and podcast at paragraph.com/@civicsunhinged Watch short-form video commentary on YouTube Shorts: https://www.youtube.com/@civics_unhinged/shorts ☕️ Reader editions and collected volumes are available at: https://f-p-dunneagin-shop.fourthwall.com 👉 Thank you for listening and for your support. Get full access to ~ Civics Unhinged: Dispatches From Trumpistan ~ at dunneagin.substack.com/subscribe