Opinion: Inequality makes people hate

Also: The gift that Trump may be giving to Democrats in the final days of the midterms. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Friday, November 2, 2018 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [David Leonhardt] David Leonhardt Op-Ed Columnist First, “This president has always wanted the election to be about him. And, in these final hours he’s made sure to put the focus back on himself,” writes [Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report]( in a good state-of-the-midterms piece. Yet that approach may be a gift to Democrats, she explains: Trump’s approval ratings tend to rise when the focus is elsewhere — and fall when it’s on him. Race, class or both? Since 2016, there has been a raging debate about the main causes of Donald Trump’s shocking victory. On one side are journalists, political scientists and others who believe that racial resentment was the overwhelming reason that Trump won. On the other side are people ([including me]( who believe this story is too simplistic and that, while race played a big role, economic factors did too. [In a new book]( Steven Pearlstein of The Washington Post has a chart that reminds me of this debate. The chart contains two lines, the first measuring income inequality and the second measuring political polarization between the two parties in Congress. Both start in 1967 and go until almost the present. And both lines rise sharply, in close proximity: As inequality increases, so does polarization. Why? The new class of the superwealthy have pushed (mostly Republican) politicians to support ever more extreme policies to protect their wealth, like tax cuts, deregulation and the undermining of labor unions. The result, Pearlstein writes, is “a self-reinforcing dynamic in which concentrations of economic and political power feed off each other.” Democrats, for their part, have responded by opposing many of these pro-wealthy policies. “But,” Pearlstein explains, “it’s not just the politicians who have been affected. Rising income inequality has also changed the attitudes and behavior of American voters, sowing resentment, fanning prejudice and eroding the sense of shared values, shared purpose and shared destiny that once held the country together.” One of the groups that’s struggled the most over this period of rising inequality is the white working class. Incomes and wealth have stagnated for many workers, of all races. But while nonwhite workers have benefited from the reduction (but by no means the elimination) of racism during the past half-century, whites have not. This combination helps explain why the recent trends in health and life expectancy are [worse for working-class whites]( than for any other major demographic group. If anything, it would be surprising if these trends did not affect political views. Sure enough, they seem to have done so. Over the same period that working-class whites have endured stagnation, they have shifted to the right. Many have abandoned the vision that Democrats have long offered — one of “shared values, shared purpose and shared destiny” (to use Pearlstein’s phrase) for the middle class, working class and poor. Trump turbocharged this shift. He did so by running a campaign that was both more economically populist and more overtly racial than any other recent Republican had. The two themes played off each other, as [Andrew Cherlin of Johns Hopkins University notes](. “Those who try to distinguish between the explanatory power of stagnant wages and a declining industrial base on the one hand, and anxieties about the ascent of minority groups on the other, miss the point,” Cherlin has written. “These are not two different factors but two sides of the same coin.” The last week has again highlighted that [racism is central to Trumpism](. His closing campaign message is [white nationalism](. But his racism has found an audience partly because of the deep economic frustrations that many Americans feel. It’s one of the oldest and saddest themes in history: Frustration breeds bigotry. Pearlstein’s book is called, “[Can American Capitalism Survive?”]( and it is full of much more wisdom. It’s the capstone of [decades of his reporting and writing]( on the subject. The chart on inequality and polarization appears on page 161. More midterms. The tight Senate race in Missouri between Claire McCaskill, the Democratic incumbent, and Josh Hawley, the Republican, hasn’t gotten quite as much attention as some other races. But it’s another important one. It has been the subject of two good recent pieces: [Nicholas Lemann]( profiles McCaskill in The New Yorker; and [Joe Nocera of Bloomberg Opinion]( (building off [an episode]( of The Daily podcast) argues that progressives have made a mistake by criticizing McCaskill’s abortion rhetoric. The full Opinion report from The Times follows. [What Kind of Democrat Can Beat Trump in 2020?]( Ben Wiseman By FRANK BRUNI The midterms will answer some questions, but not the biggest one of all. From Our Columnists [A Party Defined by Its Lies]( By PAUL KRUGMAN At this point, good people can’t be good Republicans. [The Left Gets Triggered]( By MICHELLE GOLDBERG Threats from the right inspire a new left-wing gun culture. [The Retrenchment Election]( By DAVID BROOKS Nobody is moving, just settling into place. [Trump’s Frightening Closing Argument]( Paige Vickers By THE EDITORIAL BOARD The president returns to campaign combat mode. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [The News Is Bad in Hungary]( By PAMELA DRUCKERMAN Viktor Orban didn’t like what the press was reporting, so he took it over. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [Blasphemy, Pakistan’s New Religion]( By MOHAMMED HANIF The Supreme Court overturned the death sentence of a woman accused of insulting the Prophet. The people are not happy. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [My Love Affair With AM Radio]( By ERIN AUBRY KAPLAN I hate that it has been so completely taken over by loud angry white guys. And yet late at night, I still listen. [The Last Gasp of Northern Ireland]( By RICHARD SEYMOUR A hard-line loyalist party has British politics in its death grip, because it knows that its cause is dying. The Argument IN CASE YOU MISSED IT [Who’s to Blame for American Political Violence?]( And has our politics become polarized by gender? Listen to [“The Argument” podcast]( every Thursday morning, with Ross Douthat, Michelle Goldberg and David Leonhardt. ADVERTISEMENT LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up here. [Ask Michelle Goldberg Your Questions]( She is taking questions about her col​umn on the rise of liberal gun enthusiasts​​. More in Opinion [The President’s Congressional Lap Dogs]( By PETER FRITSCH House and Senate Republicans are using their investigatory powers to wreck the reputations of anyone who asks tough questions about the Trump campaign and Russia. [Stacey Abrams and the Black Women Reshaping the Left]( By BRITTNEY COOPER She and political strategists like Jessica Byrd and Kayla Reed are designing a new theory of the Democratic coalition. [The Girl Who Seized the Internet]( By MOLLY CRABAPPLE Tara Fares fashioned herself into the Instagram queen of Iraq. Then she was shot to death. [Too Poor to Vote]( By DANIELLE LANG AND THEA SEBASTIAN If you’ve committed a crime and are rich, you can pay court fees and cast a ballot. If you don’t have money, you might be left out of democracy. [The Wrong Way to Punish Iran]( By HENRY J. FARRELL AND ABRAHAM L. NEWMAN By threatening to penalize Swift, the financial messaging service, the U.S. is alienating European allies and could undercut the dollar’s dominance. [Get the Lead Out of Bullets]( By JIM MINICK The toxic ammunition is a threat to wildlife that consume the remains of animals shot by hunters. [Andrew Cuomo Is New York’s Best Choice for Governor]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD He hasn’t delivered on all his promises, but he has shown he gets big things done when he’s determined. We’ve got more newsletters! You might like Frank Bruni’s newsletter.  Go beyond the headlines and behind the curtain with Frank Bruni’s candid reflections on politics, culture, higher education and more every week. [Sign up for Frank Bruni’s email.](  ADVERTISEMENT letters [What Exactly Does ‘Medicare for All’ Mean?]( Readers discuss how a single-payer system might work, and the pros and cons. HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [leonhardt@nytimes.com](mailto:leonhardt@nytimes.com?subject=Opinion%20Today%20Newsletter%20Feedback). FOLLOW OPINION [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytopinion]( [Pinterest] [Pinterest]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »](  | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2018 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018