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Culture War Roundup for the week of March 31, 2025

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I think you're completely misreading Hanania's argument. "The problem with a less educated support base is that it simply has a less accurate understanding of the world. In fact, I think the problem is much worse than a simple analysis of voting patterns by educational attainment would suggest. Populists not only often fail to appeal to college graduates as a broad class..." This is, flipping the subject/object, literally a word for word critique of the ruling class - that they are out of touch, live in an ideological bubble that insulates them from reality, that they are incapable of appealing to the populace at large (and do not appear to care to do so), etc.

Otherwise, is Hanania suggesting that the post-WWII elite consesus was populist in nature? Because we've been living in a kakistocracy since then (realistically, we can go back even further).

"...but perhaps the Trump administration will just continue to tariff manufacturing inputs while claiming to be protecting manufacturing..."

You mean, exactly like every other country in history did with tariffs, and currently still doing so? Of all the rebuttals to Trump's tariffs, this is the one most disconnected with historical reality.

This is, flipping the subject/object, literally a word for word critique of the ruling class - that they are out of touch, live in an ideological bubble that insulates them from reality, that they are incapable of appealing to the populace at large (and do not appear to care to do so), etc.

The evidence in support of his argument was Trump winning "low information" voters, even after controlling for college education - how do you appeal to low-information voters with facts?

"...but perhaps the Trump administration will just continue to tariff manufacturing inputs while claiming to be protecting manufacturing..."

You mean, exactly like every other country in history did with tariffs, and currently still doing so? Of all the rebuttals to Trump's tariffs, this is the one most disconnected with historical reality.

What other developed economies? Did it work during the first Trump administration? The data seems to show a continuation of a post-recession secular trend in manufacturing employment.

What are facts? I’m serious. Who gets to determine what is factual? Haniana believes the media doesn’t lie because in the end he accepts that they by and large get to determine what is factual. This position is prima facie absurd and therefore Haniana is absurd.

The mainstream media is untrustworthy and should be replaced with what, Catturd?

I don’t know. Competitive news environment? But going to ancient sources of wisdom I need to know that I don’t know. That is, I need to know the media is wrong. I don’t need a solution. Because it is better to know you know nothing as opposed to now things that just ain’t so.