[lbo-talk] Sean Wilentz: Blue Cities vs. Red Surrounds

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Fri Nov 12 10:57:46 PST 2004


Eubulides:
>
> Real Estate prices and regional inflationary spillovers. Just look at the
> development of the I-270 corridor from Bethesda to Frederick, MD over the
> last 25 years. That's one metro region that knocks your correlations to
> pretty much to bits. That dynamic has played in lots of metropolitan
> areas. People do make substantive responces to price signals.
>

I am not disputing the role of price mechanisms, but they most likely work independently of political motivations. I offered two possible causal relations between political views and moving to the burbs fully aware that these are not the only causes. If I were to elaborate I would say that different people move for different reasons, some because they hated Black, others because they got a cheapo McHouse with favorable financing, to get their kids to better schools, or perhaps because where 'everyone else was moving."

A much more interesting question is the effect of suburbanization of political views. I have a reason to believe, albeit cannot offer any proof at this time, that move to the burbs is a turn to the right. My reasons are the following: - suburbanization often results in compartmentalization, isolation and consequently - alienation and fear; and alienated and fearful people are more prone to right wing ideology - greater reliance on media in filling in free time, and that leaves less time for human interaction; less human interaction produces alienation and fear, and the media content (crime and violence) produces even more fear; - the sheer expense of suburban living creates financial dependence on banks and employment, which becomes les and les certain - that creates frustration and resentment; -alienated, fearful, and full resentment people are more prone to right view views to which they are exposed via corporate media (that listening to Rush Limbaugh on a car radio while sitting in the traffic certainly paid off).

Wojtek



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