[lbo-talk] Krugman: "The question then is why."

[Wojtek S]

Joanna: "He said that what everyone is being told is that there's not
enough to go around, that we live in a world of increasing scarcity
and that the general population of the West is convinced that sharing
with the developing world is not feasable, and that if it were, it
would certainly mean less for the rest of us. So the swing to the
right is a vote for that party which looks more consistent and more
willing to fight the encroaching hoards."

[WS:] I think it is a bit more complicated than that.  I see at least
two distinct phenomena.  First is the spread of libertarianism among
college educated, or rather college-credentialed crowd.  The ideology
of self-made geniuses standing head and shoulder above the masses has
natural appeal to this crowd, because it coincides with and
legitimizes their aspirations.  The second phenomenon is that welfare
statism, which has traditionally appealed to the working class, has
been all but abandoned by the left and became esposed by right win
nationalist parties, at least in EU.

The shift to the right that you are talking about are really two
different movements that only superficially appear congruent.  One is
the movement of the working class aligning themselves with political
parties that protect their economic interests, even if it means
espousing right wing cultural ideas.  The other one is the movement of
the managerial class and knowledge workers who espouse ideology that
legitimizes their status and aspirations.

Wojtek