Here's a fact: Obama won in eight of the ten wealthiest counties in the U.S.
Anyone who can figure out just why that happened might unlock the key to this whole period in history. All I know is that the world became much easier to understand as soon as I gave up on the idea that rich people are essentially social or cultural conservatives.
Conservatism is the philosophy of people familiar with grim reality - as in the saying "everyone is a conservative in their own field of expertise".
ReplyDeleteRich people - even if they didn't get so through political rent seeking - are isolated from reality by their wealth.
Except I've found that that expression (Conquest's First Law) is NOT true, ESP among conservatives.
ReplyDeleteEvery "conservative" homosexual I know is pro-gay "marriage," every "conservative" Newfie wants his province to keep getting "free" stuff -- they all want exceptions based upon their handicapped sister or gay brother or that ever so nice Muslim at the office.
I don't know if it is intended to be a political statement, but I take Conquest's First Law (thankyou!) as a statement about knowledge. In my own field of expertise (engineering) I base my actions (designs, calculations) on tried and tested principles and methods. That is, I act as a conservative, because reality has too many traps for any other strategy to be viable. The dilettante has no such qualms.
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