Biscuit Compendium of Pessimism, #5

Adam Werbach at Alternet, on why liberals shouldn't count on people's economic self-interest or on Republican over-reaching to save the day:

First, conservative economic policy hurts the people lowest down in the line, which creates more economic insecurity. When you’re feeling economically insecure, you’re going to look for something more to believe in. You’re going to search more for faith. And who are you going to look toward? This faith-driven conservative movement.

Likewise, when you’re scared because of terrorism and war, who are you going to look to? Conservatives. So the more scared you get, you look to conservatives. This is a positive feedback mechanism that they have set up.

It works the same way with the other liberal myth, which is that they’re going to overreach. In this case, the more they overreach, the more they affirm that position. So they have a feedback mechanism for overreaching—that’s what’ they’re suppose to do right now. It’s going to serve them better than not overreaching.

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If things get worse people are not going to become economically more rational – that’s the point. The fact that despair is increasing – which it will – is not going to lead to the rebirth in liberalism. That’s not why they think that they’ve gotten this way, and it’s not how they think they’re going to get themselves out.