Don't overestimate the goodness of the American people [View all]

https://www.editorialboard.com/dont-overestimate-the-goodness-of-the-american-people/


Now that trillions of dollars have vanished as a consequence of the Trump tariffs, I see that some liberals who are sitting on high perches are talking about how the tide is turning against the president. They tell us that even Donald Trump’s voters are changing their minds.

It’s things like this that worry me. It tells me that liberals still operate according to certain articles of faith that are well beyond their expiration dates. It tells me that liberals grossly underestimate the power of corruption, greed, arrogance and stupidity, and grossly overestimate the inherent goodness of the American people.

For the last 25 years or so, liberals have complained about the fact that people who vote for Republicans always vote against their own economic self-interest. Yet at the same time, liberals believe deep in their bones that once they experience economic hardship, as a consequence of their vote, these same voters will change their minds.

Why would they do that? If they truly understood their own economic self-interest, they wouldn’t have voted against it in the first place. They don’t. Their vote is proof. So the question is: Why should we expect people who don’t understand what’s good for them to change their minds? Why should we expect people who don’t understand what’s good for them to see the value of the Democrats’ economic policies?

*snip*