On Feb 3, 2012, at 7:14 AM, shag carpet bomb wrote:
> He just uses these claims about the lower orders b/c he knows it appeals to his audience: liberals who want to know what's the matter with Kansas. It doesn't have to be explained if that's your audience. it just has to be invoked b/c the audience finds it satisfying *already* to believe that they are the smart ones in the room writing the books about what's the matter with kansas. Most people reading aren't going to question this thesis IOW.
Maybe I'm sensitive to this because Corey's a friend of mine, but where the hell did you get this? His audience is not liberals. Corey is not a Tom Frank liberal, nor is he much interested in the Kansas question. His book is mainly about intellectual history and political philosophy. He's not the kind of guy who uses terms like "lower orders." He is interested in how men like lording it over their families, and how that mobilizes popular support for reactionary politics, but that's not the main focus of the book.
Have you read it, or are you just sounding off?
Doug