Author Linda Tirado has a good essay at Talk Poverty on the “coastal elite” that I want to commend to your attention:
To be an elite is to be listened to and respected, to have autonomy, to think that your life and your work might be remembered by history. For me, it was obvious when I tipped over that line: I count national politicians in three countries amongst my friends, and if I am curious about something I can simply dial up an expert and know that my call will be taken.
That’s what power looks like now. Power is social capital that I trade on to build the networks that I need to get more social capital that I can trade for more power. That is the nature of the game, and you need an invitation to play.
Progressive circles are still not equipped to wrestle with imbalances of political power. If you ask someone on the left to explain racism or sexism or homophobia, they will be able to expound at length about how we must listen to the people who are impacted, and how those with the upper hand in any given situation must try to identify and mitigate systemic imbalances. Ask about elitism—about inequality in access and cultural power—and people have a harder time articulating it.
Consider it through the lens of the disruption that I had in my life. There are my old friends, the ones I swapped shifts with: low-income, disabled, unemployed, high-school graduates struggling to make ends meet. Then there are my new friends, the ones I made when I was elevated: politicians, household-name pundits and writers, deans of upscale schools, Hollywood stars. For me, the question of social capital is really that stark. There is Before, and After.
When I talk to my old friends about the problems of the nation, it is always personal and immediate. Will needed services like heating assistance or low-income health insurance be cut? Will I be able to keep my job if I don’t have a child care credit? Will we still have the home health nurse that takes care of my mom when I can’t be there? With my new friends, these problems are real but also somehow theoretical. Millions of people are at risk of losing these things, which everyone agrees is awful. We talk about who we might call to lobby, or what organizations are good soldiers in the fight.
It boggles the mind that people cannot see a difference in those two kinds of conversations, even as they bemoan the terrifying increases in inequality in America. I still feel an ancient rage building in my chest when I see someone on TV telling the viewing audience—most of whom will never be invited to be a pundit—that any cultural divide is the sole fault of nefarious right-wing populists.
Her key point is that rejecting the very idea that there is a “coastal elite” is symptomatic of how great the divide. Read the whole thing.
I don’t believe that we live in a democracy today. I think today’s America is an aristocracy but its aristocrats are not distinguished like the aristocracies of days of old by the ownership of land. Mostly, today’s aristocrats know people.
Politicians, deans, Hollywood stars and pundits. Super. This woman seems proud of her accomplishment.
The only reason knowing politicians is helpful is because of the power we have given them through voting for legislators gone wild. It used to be just the local ward boss. Now it’s the representatives and senators and president, and the influencers surrounding them. In turn, politically connected organizations have captured power.
We, Everyman, have willingly ceded this power over time, and lazily succumbed to Robin Hood and Harry Dogooder promises. The elites have proven to be empty suits, and over-reaching. And as we’ve seen, you never know what kind of package the populist will come in. Another fine mess…..
Memo to self: It’s been four or five years. Time to reread Thackerey’s VANITY FAIR.