Cui Bono

Let’s start out this morning with this piece by Zaid Jilani at Newsweek. In the piece Mr. Jilani reflects on why “anti-racism” is gaining such a hold on progressives. It isn’t because it’s politically effective:

What can be the harm in talking about how every universal policy especially benefits African Americans or Latinos?

That’s a question that Yale University researchers Josh Kalla and Micah English recently explored in a working paper that tested various types of messaging to promote progressive policies. “Political scientists have really been doing this type of research for decades and they’ve always shown that associating these policies with racial minorities makes people less likely to support them,” English told me in an interview. “But given the shift in racial attitudes in the past few years we thought that maybe the story would be different this time around.”

English and Kalla took six different policies—increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour, forgiving $50,000 in student loan debt, the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, upzoning housing, and decriminalizing marijuana and erasing prior convictions—and then asked people if they supported them. But they framed the issues differently to see which rationale was most compelling. To one group, they explicitly emphasized that the policy will benefit a specific racial group or promote racial equity (the “race” frame). To another they spoke about how a policy would promote economic justice or benefit a specific class group (the “class” frame). For a third group, they used both the race and class frame together. And for a final group, they used a neutral frame that explained the policy but made no mention of race or class.

What they found is that the class frame was generally more effective than either the race frame or the race plus class frame. “Despite observed increases in support for racial justice and Democratic elites’ use of race and class plus race frames in their public messaging, we find no evidence that Americans are persuaded by these policy frames,” they conclude in their paper.

Well, isn’t that what you’d expect given white racism and all? Uh, no:

It wasn’t just that some white voters were turned off by race-oriented messaging. For African Americans, the only minority group surveyed in high enough numbers to draw a conclusion, the race frame seemed to have no advantage over the class frame.

“Something really important that we found is that the race appeal and the class appeal are about just as effective for Black voters,” English told me, speculating that these voters tend to be more pragmatic in their political approach.

Then why is it so attractive?

Interestingly, English and Kalla did find one group that was slightly receptive to the race framing, but it might not be the one why you expect: It was white Democrats.

It’s worth wondering why progressives, particularly white progressives, have become so fixated on racial messaging if there’s so little evidence that it actually works to persuade voters to support their policies. Political parties spend mountains of money on survey and focus group work; English and Kalla’s paper may be the latest showing how ineffective racial messaging can be, but it certainly isn’t the first bit of research to demonstrate that finding.

My guess is that the progressive movement is simply captured by an upper-class elite for whom anti-racism is now an all-dominating philosophy. Sure, it may not persuade your average voter—white or Black or anyone else—to support your political party to frame every message in terms of race, but it probably does impress your social cohort.

Well, what difference does it make if a few rich white progressives are dragging everything through a racial lens?

And what this latest study shows is that this elite cohort that runs everything from the major news media to the universities to America’s political parties is deeply out of touch, not only with average Americans but perhaps its own political interests. Self-defeating messaging is self-defeating, even if it makes you feel good and impresses people who already agree with you.

A remark by Ayaan Hirsi Ali at UnHerd is relevant:

If we continue to slip down this path, the thirst for tribalism will be unquenchable. That’s why moderate liberals need to stand up to the destructive forces that are taking over the Democratic party, just as moderate conservatives need to resist the tribal impulse that often grows in reaction to the other side’s excesses.

In Somalia, we failed to do this. In America it is imperative that we succeed.

as is a wisecrack attributed to Benjamin Franklin on the Signing of the Declaration of Independence:

We must, indeed, all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.

Emphasizing our differences and grievances is no way to encourage us to “hang together”. But, apparently, encouraging us to hate each other is a source of social cred for some.

3 comments… add one
  • bob sykes Link

    Why rich White Progressives support anti-White racial identity politics is a psychological mystery. However, as the current White majority evolves (devolves?) into merely the largest minority, racial identity will become a consuming passion. This is true of every multicultural, multiethnic society. As Lee Kuan Yew famously said, “In multiracial societies, you don’t vote in accordance with your economic interests and social interests, you vote in accordance with race and religion.”

    Blacks, Hispanics, and Jews are already consumed by their racial/ethnic identities.

    It passing, it should be noted that the American colonies of Franklin’s time were highly homogeneous. WASP was an accurate descriptor. There were some Germans, but the Irish migrations had not yet begun. The Italians, et al., were far in the future.

  • Grey Shambler Link

    Hit the nail on the head there.
    If the constant complaining by, and pandering to blacks evident in our daily media diet gets under your skin, you can be sure you are lower caste.
    If what I just said brings an irresistible urge to shout racist, and such pandering makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, whether or not it does average blacks any good at all, you, are part of the elite.
    You don’t respect black peoples,
    you pity them.

  • Drew Link

    “Self-defeating messaging is self-defeating, even if it makes you feel good and impresses people who already agree with you.”

    Except it seems to be working. And even if self-defeating in the long run, a tremendous amount of damage can be done in the interim.

Leave a Comment