It's the Culture, Stupid

One of the best articles about politics made the case it is not about economics, at least directly. It is about distinctly different cultures. If the data on how people voted is accurate the role of culture cannot be denied. 

Decades ago as a young man, I was involved up to my ears in local disputes in Fargo, ND. Fargo is the largest city in ND and a media center in that part of the U.S. so the Mayor becomes a little bigger in prominence than most other Mayors of small cities. I knew well a former Mayor, Herschel Lashkowitz, who had been Mayor for 20 years. People would say about Herschel, "He would walk into a room of people who all said they hated him. But he would move from person to person confidently, always whispering about something."

I learned what was being whispered. It was prominent men (mostly men in those days) with position and stature whispering complaints about being frozen out of the "insiders" circle of influence. So many whispered to me this grievance. I realized most everyone felt like an "outsider" wanting to be an "insider" and wanted someone to hear how hurt they were. 

Today we see something like this on a national scale. A few years ago conservative politics started using the word "culture." They used it referring to what they considered liberal and lax moral values. "The culture is full of sin. We need to stand up against the culture." They did not then or now understand the term.

More precise use of the term is in sociology and anthropology. Culture is a broad set of values, beliefs and practices in a group. It differs across the world and within countries. 

Those who voted for Trump are from a culture that agreed on many issues, too many immigrants, too much homosexuality, not enough prayer and readers knows the rest of the list. The same with Biden voters. So, with this in mind can we answer why a broad sweep of Republicans still believes Trump won the election even though there is no evidence to support it?

The answer is that culture holds fast to the view they are on the outside and have always been pushed to the fringes of society by "insiders." The "insiders" are exclusively liberals and government bureaucrats. "If have to unite against those insiders." That there is no evidence of fraud in the election is not important. What is important is the culture that supports the fraud hoax.   

Trump does what Herschel did. He knows millions of people think they have been pushed to the outside and want some sympathy. They don't care about his tawdry personal life, that his economic policies hurt them or bald-face lies. He understands their culture.