Brooks: Bitter at the Top (Knowledge Workers(D) vs. Managers(R))

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/15/opinion/15BROO.html?pagewanted=print&position=

It's been said that every society has two aristocracies. The members of the aristocracy of mind produce ideas, and pass along knowledge. The members of the aristocracy of money produce products and manage organizations. In our society these two groups happen to be engaged in a bitter conflict about everything from S.U.V.'s to presidents. You can't understand the current bitter political polarization without appreciating how it is inflamed or even driven by the civil war within the educated class.

The percentage of voters with college degrees has doubled in the past 30 years. As the educated class has grown, it has segmented. The economy has produced a large class of affluent knowledge workers — teachers, lawyers, architects, academics, journalists, therapists, decorators and so on — who live and vote differently than their equally well-educated but more business-oriented peers.

Political scientists now find it useful to distinguish between professionals and managers. Professionals, mostly these knowledge workers, tend to vote for Democrats. Over the last four presidential elections professionals have supported the Democratic candidate by an average of 52 percent to 40, according to Ruy Teixeira and John Judis, authors of "The Emerging Democratic Majority."

Managers, who tend to work for corporations, brokerage houses, real estate firms and banks, tend to vote Republican. Thanks to their numbers, George Bush still won the overall college-educated vote.

[jayavarman]

1. Great editorial

Very interesting. Brooks writes about something that we pretty much see each day, but I've never seen encapsulated like that. Intriguing theory about the increased political polarization we've seen in recent years.

Also very interesting that 90% of the richest zip codes tend to vote Democratic.

Although I don't agree with some of Brooks' opinions, I do like his writing.

[AndyTiedye]

2. That is Why The Regime Is Outsourcing So Aggressively

and why the sic'ed Enron on California to wreck Silicon Valley.

The idea that knowledge workers should start making real money,
AND USING IT TO SUPPORT DEMOCRATS was anathema to the Bush*
and his gang.

We're supposed to be making our money by stealing resources from
weaker nations, not by making really cool stuff that everyone wants.

[struggle4progress]

3. At least here, Brooks isn't regurgitating the daily Rovian meme ...

so perhaps he is rediscovering the joy of some independent thought.

[teryang]

4. Unsupported generalizations

The allegation that Bush gets more of the college educated vote is completely unsupported.

The studies show that the more educated one is the more likely they are to vote democratic. Why would these people vote for bush? He didn't get a majority of the entire electorate, how did he get a majority of the people more likely to vote democratic?

The fact is that the professional classes are being exploited by the corporatists just like the working class. The tax structure is weighted against them and the legal structure is as well forcing them to kowtow to the incessant demands of insurance companies, corporate boards, corrupt investment fiduciaries, and legislatures controlled by the same. Upward mobility for these groups and their families is being stiffled by rapacious corporate elites much, much, higher on the social ladder.

Does one really consider chimp and his coterie straight shooters? Like Enron? Like Halliburton? Like the 911 commission? Who do you trust more, your childs 10th grade history teacher or the manager at Merril Lynch where you just lost 5 years worth of 401K? You do you trust more, a family doctor you've seen for 10 years or the HMO management? Do you really trust your mutual fund management or your insurance company? If you do, you are a fool and probably vote republican. If you own the company, you're not a fool and vote republican.

Marketing people and corporate managers are promoted for concealing the facts and projecting the bullet points to an unwitting public. Their success is measured by their ability to disguise and manipulate the facts about your money and their obligations.

The more education you have and the older you get the more apparent the duplicity of corporate barkers and their minions becomes. The notion that the more educated vote for the chimp is absurd.