Political Parties No Longer Sell Only Policies, They Sell Worldviews Too
This week’s State of the Union address, when contrasted against the Speaker of the House’s theatrical act of tearing it up, perfectly showcases the drastic change we’ve seen over the last few decades in politics: parties no longer sell policies, they sell worldviews. They sell worldviews complete with their own lenses of perception, systems of morality, and standards of behavior.
For those that haven’t watched or read the speech, it was filled with all kinds of American exceptionalism. There were a ton of lofty economic goals that the American people met or exceeded, many of which set fresh records. Quite a few heros that have devoted their lives to the country were recognized, including one of the remaining Tuskegee Airmen. There were a few young, aspiring heroes too, working hard at securing a successful future. The core of the speech was this: the state of the nation is great, and it is great because of everyone’s hard work and dedication in making it great.
The underlying worldview there is derived from a belief that individual freedom and responsibility are the greatest drivers of exceptional performance, and the government should limit its intervention to creating a level economic plane that fosters equal opportunity for all. When Speaker Pelosi tore up the speech, this is what her party protests. They feel that this worldview is not just incorrect, but it is immoral, and the people that espouse and promote it are either evil or unwitting tools of evil. This is further evidenced by the fact that the democratic party did not celebrate or applaud when the president recited objective statistics such as: unemployment rates are at the lowest levels since the 1960s, unemployment rates for several minority groups are at all-time lows, wage growth has accelerated, resulting in the highest average monthly wages ever recorded. During all of those, and several more, Pelosi’s party sat, did not clap, and at certain times, scowled.
The reason she gave: the speech was littered with misconceptions and falsehoods. Of course, it was not the data that her party takes issue with. It is the underlying principles. In their worldview, the metrics are good, but life is not. The lower class, minorities, and immigrants are oppressed by an overbearing system that forces them to work hard while the higher classes, mostly dominated by whites, unfairly reap the benefits of the lower class’ labor. This makes the vast majority of Americans victims, therefore it is the government’s responsibility to step in and enact measures that redistribute wealth and minimize the impact of personal choices in order to achieve equality of outcome.
Going forward, we see much of the same trends on the campaign trails. Trump and the GOP is continuing the trend of expanding opportunity by enticing companies to relocate to United States, and working to establish favorable trade deals with other nations, especially China. They’re also reinforcing personal responsibility and conventional morality by stating that students with loans will not receive relief for the loans they agreed to take out; and supporting the pro-life movement. Conversely, the Democrats are pushing deeper into the collectivism doctrines, attempting to further their goal of equalizing outcome by promising the forgiveness of student loans, providing universal basic income, allowing abortion on demand up to point of birth, and removing or lessening criminal penalties for offenders.
Behind the campaign trails we see the proponents pushing the worldviews. On the Republican side we see messages affirming individual strength and appeals to confidence and determination, which is combined with warnings to weigh decisions carefully and take responsibility for your failings. On the Democrat side, we have proponents outlining societal flaws and economic differences to convince people that they are victims, largely powerless, and very often not wholly responsible for the bad choices they have made. In order to remedy those situations and make amends, society should confiscate wealth and take responsibility for the failings of its members, and wherever possible, lessen the consequences. Whatever worldview is bought leads directly into the party that should be voted for.
A false worldview leads to bad policies. It is important to weigh what motivates us to choose one worldview over the other, and judge that chosen worldview against what we observe in reality to see if it is correct.
