Gregg Easterbrook posed an intriguing question in yesterday’s New York Times: if America is doing relatively well in the world in so many respects, why is it, in his words, that optimism has become uncool?
First, to reinforce his essential point, look around the world. The United States is an island of relative stability and true democracy. Western Europe is wrestling with very slow economic growth and a crisis of refugees. The so-called BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) all are facing much deeper problems than anyone would have reckoned on five years. A second tier of emerging markets such as Venezuela, Nigeria, South Africa, and Thailand are all facing acute governmental and economic challenges. So Easterbrook is completely accurate when he says things are relatively good in the United States.
What he misses is why we are so unhappy. The reason is that political leaders, think tanks and news organizations all have learned to prosper by selling animosity and mistrust. Candidates like Donald Trump, who say “our country is going to hell,” know they can grab attention by making extreme statements. Think tanks and other institutions that should be creating more bipartisan solutions are pandering to either extreme left or right. That’s where the money is.
And the media has completely failed to play its role as an arbiter of what is truthful and fair. Editors and producers who adhered to any of the old-fashioned values about being the gatekeepers of our democracy would never have given such credibility to Trump if it were not for the fact that they make money that way. They get hits on their websites. They get viewers on television. I’m not making this stuff up. Les Moonves of CBS has admitted it publicly. Websites, cable TV channels and all forms of media, faced with a media climate that makes it very hard to survive economically, are feeding the bipartisan divide and the culture wars.
So the answer to Easterbrook’s very fine question is that there are forces in our society that used to guide us toward sensible middle-of-the-road solutions. But now they are doing the opposite. They are trying to tear us apart.
