The Qualification Gap (🇺🇸 US-UK🇬🇧 Edition)

There was a time when the central question in public life was simple: What do they know? That question has not disappeared—but it has been replaced.The Qualification Gap examines a governing model in which preparation is no longer the standard, and where performance, loyalty, and narrative fluency have taken its place. Using recent events surrounding JD Vance as a case study, the essay argues that what appears to be individual failure is, in fact, systemic design.This is not a sudden break. It is the culmination of a long drift—one that has quietly redefined what counts as competence in public life.The result is a widening gap between the demands of governance and the qualifications required to meet them.And once that gap opens, it does not remain contained.It becomes the system itself.— 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