Americans’ faces at every turn.
A coalition is like a family in two ways. First, it involves trading. If you get your way on
this, I’ll get my way on that. That’s the glue that keeps a coalition together. A coalition’s
like a family in another way, too. We need to cut one another some slack. When you
show up for Thanksgiving dinner, you don’t shove your political views down Aunt Josie’s
throat; that would signal to her that you don’t value your relationship with her. And it
would signal to your family that you don’t value your relationship with them.
I recognize that it’s hard to cut anyone slack when what you’re arguing about is
perceived as a human rights issue. This is true in the abortion debate (for both sides); the
debates over LGBTQ rights; the debates over race and religion and gender and so many
other debates in American life today. While framing these debates as human rights issues
has been effective in many ways, it has also come at a cost. Human rights rhetoric was
invented originally as a language to communicate that genocide and crimes against
humanity are always immoral.^260 That’s what gave the rhetoric its “there’s no
compromise possible here” tone and carried the message that human rights should always
have top priority.
But this Manichean construction holds substantial risks for coalitions. Most political
issues are not like ripping dissenters’ fingernails out or obliterating entire populations.
Often they involve a clash of sincerely held beliefs held by fundamentally decent people.
Healthy politics requires being able to reach working compromises so we can all live
together, despite the fact that we see diametrically opposed truths as indisputably true.
The working class—of all races—has been asked to swallow a lot of economic pain while
elites have focused on noneconomic issues: this is the first generation in American history
to experience lifetime downward mobility compared with people their age a decade
before.^261 In 1970, 90% of 30-year-olds earned more than their parents at the same age;
by 2014, only half did.^262 Neither party has taken effective steps to stop this precipitous
slide. “Rural America is in a deep, deep depression that has been completely ignored by
both Democrats and Republicans,” commented Frank Philllips.* It’s time to pay
attention.
Obviously, reframing American liberal politics is a complex and long-term proposition.
Here are some suggestions on specific issues.
Trade policy. It’s not a good idea to embrace a trade deal that’s good for the country as a
- Can Liberals Embrace the White Working Class without Abandoning Important Values and Allies?
