a priori, the whole “economic anxiety leads to racist scapegoating” always seemed backwards to me. my intuition is economic anxiety would activate the parts of one’s identity that are worker-centered. economic security otoh leaves people bored & aimless and indulging their other identities - ThreadSky

fleerultra.bsky.social • 3 days ago

a priori, the whole “economic anxiety leads to racist scapegoating” always seemed backwards to me. my intuition is economic anxiety would activate the parts of one’s identity that are worker-centered. economic security otoh leaves people bored & aimless and indulging their other identities

Reposted from Julian Sanchez

I suspect this is a HUGELY underestimated factor in radicalization. If you look at, say, QAnon boards, it’s not really folks looking for scapegoats for their dire material circumstances. It’s middle-class people with boring lives who want to imagine they’re in The Parallax View.

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machete.gay•3 days ago

People really struggle with the idea that a lot of racists are pretty unpleasant to be around in general so if they're experiencing economic anxiety, maybe it's because they're too much of a repugnant slob to make more money.

And those people need narratives for why they're failures.

scottsantens.com•3 days ago

Poverty is different than chronic insecurity is different than extreme inequality. They are all economic stressors but along different pathways.

Normative stress is what can lead to authoritarian flare-ups, and it can involve economic elements, especially inequality.

boredompeejeterson.bsky.social•3 days ago

Economic anxiety absolutely plays a role, it just doesn't mean what you think. The kind of econonic anxiety in play here is the anxiety of people who own at least something, and who fear that they or they children might have less in the future.

ernieluckman.bsky.social•3 days ago

i saw somewhere studies that generally speaking people who were convicted of crimes at January 6 were relatively wealthy for their area.

handlehaveruno.bsky.social•3 days ago

Well they had to travel so there is gonna be a selection bias to disposable income

friedcakesnerd.bsky.social•3 days ago

Sometimes I hear about somebody my age having a stroke or whatever and my brain immediately kicks over into "well what was their diet like? I bet they didn't exercise" mode. I think there's something similar going on here, where people are secure but aware of encroaching precarity

friedcakesnerd.bsky.social•3 days ago

And we live at a historical peak of abundance for the middle class and chickens coming home to roost for the treat production system. A certain type responds with "the treats are sacrosanct thus the systems are good therefore we must destroy the freaks who are the real source of this looming dread"

simplyjack.bsky.social•3 days ago

The problem with the us is that worker identity is wrapped up in racial identity.

bigfatbartolocolon.bsky.social•3 days ago

one of the most economically anxious ppl I ever met was a guy who sold his biz for 8 figures in the Obama era and was mad bc he thought dems were gonna change tax laws so he couldn't live off the investment returns by putting his $$ in index funds and that he would have to dip into the principal

dynaboyj.bsky.social•3 days ago

I met so many guys while canvassing for public campaign financing who were scared their tax dollars would increase and upset their yearly salaries of $300k from the business they owned

chillmun.bsky.social•3 days ago

I think the latter is driving the fascist political class and the former is providing them electoral support ONLY because of the rhetorical weakness of the Dem messaging about economic turmoil and inequality.

If we had a functional populist left party we could guarded that lane but alas…

5u8.bsky.social•3 days ago

A lot of QAnon believers were ex military who presumably feel a bit lost after losing the camaraderie and discipline of military life. Many of them start spending hours online after being prescribed opiates to deal with their injuries.

armabellum.bsky.social•3 days ago

I'm not sure, to be honest.

Just my experience, not data, but I've seen lots of poor working class people resort to "it's the fucking immigrants" as soon as they're facing economic/job difficulties, because it's quicker and easier to grasp than "the system does not work and there's no quick fix".

armabellum.bsky.social•3 days ago

The origin of the idea is definitely somewhere in the middle-and-higher classes, though. If you follow the strings of their ideas you pretty much always find a direct line to a respected acquaintance who made it big and therefore "they know how it works", so "their ideology must be correct".

armabellum.bsky.social•3 days ago

It's always "I know a banker/company directive/guy who has several apartments for rent who told me The Government gifts money to squatters so rents go up to compensate" and never "yeah, some immigrants went into Joe-from-the-workshop-you-know-the-guy-with-six-sons's house and kicked them out"

socio-steve.bsky.social•3 days ago

I like to read it as "economic status anxiety" i.e. one's relative place on the ladder. Fits with the "the petit bourgeoise is the vanguard of fascism" work from the midcentury (e.g. Lipset)

fleerultra.bsky.social•3 days ago

i think “status anxiety” makes a lot more sense but that crucially is not an anxiety that can be addressed with broad worker-friendly policies. how we frame the problem influences the solutions on offer! someone who is worried about their place in the hierarchy isn’t gonna be convinced by UBI

typicaliconoclast.bsky.social•3 days ago

Well it’s more that worker friendly policies will activate people on our side. Turnout is more important than swing voters in winning elections.

And that a broad social program will give people a positive antidote to the malaise rather than a violent one.

katiecannon.bsky.social•3 days ago

My MAGA family does not understand where the 💵 in theyr pocket comes from

Also, a Job Guarantee addresses racist hiring practices

And makes it more difficult for the farmer who *must* feed you to wonder what you’re doing in return

socio-steve.bsky.social•3 days ago

Absolutely.

fleerultra.bsky.social•3 days ago

I will add that I support UBI and other universal programs (but I do especially love UBI) because I think it's good and right and worth doing, even if it doesn't solve racial caste systems in this country. we should work on those too!

socio-steve.bsky.social•3 days ago

I spent several years working on it. Definitely something I support.

https://jainfamilyinstitute.org/our-team/stephen-nunez/

bocyeubya.bsky.social•3 days ago

WaPo wrote about this in Feb. 2021. Most Jan 6ers were relatively well-off, but had recently experienced financial precarity. The group had twice the bankruptcy rate of the overall US, a quarter of them had been sued by a creditor, etc. They felt like something they deserved was being taken

bocyeubya.bsky.social•3 days ago

Article link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/02/10/capitol-insurrectionists-jenna-ryan-financial-problems/

rainmanbun.bsky.social•3 days ago

i think economic anxiety creates the question, i.e. "why does my life suck," that racial scapegoating is an easy answer to (if you're awful)

stephenberquist.bsky.social•2 days ago

people seek domination & cruelty because they've learned to enjoy it and excuse it. other people blame this domination & cruelty on "economic anxiety" or "trauma" as a way to avoid any direct conflict with it

gayarmada.bsky.social•3 days ago

Just what poor people have time to worry about, trans swimming pool

skeptictank.bsky.social•3 days ago

I think the missing connector would be that economic anxiety leads to *supporting people who claim to have the answers- answers which include* racist scapegoating

opinionhaver.bsky.social•3 days ago

outright economic deprivation usually demotivates people from political participation more than anything else. it's the people that are comfortable but not secure where you tend to see more political behavior oriented around redistribution, etc.

jarekfa.bsky.social•3 days ago

How does this fit in with comfortable NYT execs, getting all exercised over minor language shit re: trans-people ("these people saying transwomen are women, well they must hate women sports, time for a correction"), just completely ignoring the major material harms being imposed on their families?

deathcoaster.bsky.social•3 days ago

I assure you the NYT has only put forth effort towards endangering transgender lives, but liberal ideologues cannot envision changing society through any means but winning hearts and minds

jarekfa.bsky.social•3 days ago

That's the disconnect that drives me nuts. Ok, your liberal readership loves "debates" so debating implications of evolving language is a thing. But people are literally being persecuted under color of law based on their identity. That's so much more meaningful than me hearing "pregnant person" IRL.

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