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The New York Times Argues “Moving to the Center Is the Way to Win.” But the Data Shows the Strategy Is Tapped Out.
(data4democracy.substack.com)
this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2025
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politics
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People just don't want to acknowledge the real problem here: inequality. When people feel left behind, they are much more likely to break either reactionary or revolutionary. Status quo politics are not going to appeal to either of these groups. At the same time, the people who are doing well for themselves within the status quo are going to be put off by both the reactionaries and the revolutionaries. The people who are doing well don't want radical change, one way or another. Why would they? They're doing fine and they don't want anything to jeopardize that.
So, if a politician moves to the center they will appeal to the pro status quo group, but they will lose both the reactionaries and the revolutionaries. Similarly, if a politician moves to either the reactionary side or the revolutionary side, they will lose the other two groups.
We are divided. There is no one winning strategy because there is no one, single group of American voters to try and appeal to, AND embracing any one group means alienating the others. And we're not just divided because we watch different cables news stations or spend time in different web discussion forums, we're divided because our lived experiences are different. Our divisions are not merely ideological, they are material.
I don't like the word "inequality" because libertarians sieze on it is "disparity" is the better word
I've never heard them do this, what is their line of argument with regards to inequality?
"We're not all equal!"
"Equality is impossible!"
"Equality? Don't you mean 'communism'?"
Libertarians are a fucking joke. Let them squawk.
They're like chess players who can only see one move ahead (and even that, not all that well). They apply simplistic models to complex human behavior and never consider how those models can be gamed. That might be because they're stupid, or because they think they're the only ones who'll figure out how to do the gaming.