Democrats: Too Elite for the Working Class?

I’m publishing this series of articles to share and discuss my ruminations on coping with a troubled and messy world. You can “follow” me to never miss an article.

Two sharply contrasting, if not opposing, Op-Eds in The New York Times, reveal both the strengths and weaknesses of Democrats, and thereby the uphill battle facing them in the coming elections[i].

Despite their widely popular support for Women’s Rights, Pamela Paul contention is that Democrats are in effect their own worst enemies. Why? Because they are primarily viewed as Elitists. That is, many of the issues that move Progressives, like Gender Identity, don’t connect with average folks.

In contrast, Paul Krugman makes the more than valid point that Republicans who are supposed to be the friends of the Working Class are anything but. In their desire to cut the funding of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), they will thereby be helping the Rich, not the Middle and Lower Classes. Indeed, if the cuts went through, the “little people would pay taxes”.

Conspiracy Theories have so taken over the G.O.P. such that it’s become completely unhinged from Reality. And a proper sense of Reality is what’s needed more than ever. But this requires those who cannot only explain complex matters in as simple terms as possible, but are motivated to do so. Democracy hinges on it.

[i] Pamela Paul, “The Democrats Are Their Own Worst Enemies,” The New York Times, Friday, November 3, 2023, P A21; Paul Krugman, “Holding National Security Hostage to Help Tax Cheats,” The New York Times, Friday, November 3, 2023, P A20.

Ian I. Mitroff is credited as being one of the principal founders of the modern field of Crisis Management. He has a BS, MS, and a PhD in Engineering and the Philosophy of Social Systems Science from UC Berkeley. He Is Professor Emeritus from the Marshall School of Business and the Annenberg School of Communication at USC. Currently, he is a Senior Research Affiliate in the Center for Catastrophic Risk Management, UC Berkeley. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Academy of Management. He has published 41 books. His latest is: The Socially Responsible Organization: Lessons from Covid, Springer, New York, 2022.

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