It is time to end the culture wars

It is difficult to pinpoint the beginning of what we now refer to as the “culture wars,” an endless discussion of gender, sexuality, representation, race, ‘woke-ism,’ etc. But it is clear that it must now come to an end, so we can focus on more pressing issues.

This is not to say that activism has no place, but we must acknowledge the opportunity cost. Politicians and the media spend countless hours discussing social issues, when they could be discussing something more fundamental: economics.

People who are ill informed about politics nevertheless have strong opinions on social issues. But take a person, and instead of asking them about culture issues, ask them what they think the economic system should look like. What should it prioritize? What should it disincentivize? What is the role of government? You will struggle to find answers because economics is not in the public consciousness and therefore, we do not have a lexicon to discuss it.

Now to make the case that economic conditions should be discussed prior to social issues.

Imagine your house is on fire. You scream and shout and decide that what you really need is a hose. Your neighbours come out of their homes and scream over you that what you really need is a bucket of water. They then proceed to argue about whether the bucket is sustainability made, and what race and gender the person filling the bucket should be. This is our current situation.

The house on fire is our economic climate. It is monopolization, increasing income inequality, homelessness, stagnating wage growth, opposition to unions, the influence of commerce in government, big tech, etc.

The bucket of water represents solutions to social issues.

The hose is increasing corporate tax rates, a negative income tax, union support, antitrust laws, etc.

You would only reach for the bucket if you had already admitted defeat in finding a hose. I do not feel that we should make this concession.

To speak in very simple terms, politicians would be much better off to redirect all social issues raised by the other side to discussions of economics. This will upset a portion of the left-wing base, but leftists have become comfortable with losing because they want to hold onto ideological commitments. Politics, properly practiced, means sacrificing pure ideology for practical reasons. It is time to act on this.

In the United States, for example, when a left-wing politician is asked what they think of transgender children in schools, the answer should be something like:

“Our public schools have routinely had their budgets cut by Republicans who want to give tax breaks to rich people and corporations. My goal is to tax corporations more and give that money to public schools.”

Now, yes. Some on the left will be upset that social issues are being ignored. But each politician, when interviewed, may only have a few soundbites that make it to the public. When people overwhelmingly agree on economic issues, it is time to run on them. Pure ideology be damned.

To extend our example above, consider that:

68% of Americans support raising taxes on large businesses and corporations.

61% of Americans (increasing to 71% for public school parents) say they would prefer to vote for a political candidate that wants to increase school funding. 

Now the alternative. Before introducing the added complexity of transgender children in schools, consider American attitudes at large:

38% of Americans say society has gone too far in accepting transgender people.

36% of Americans say society has not gone far enough in accepting transgender people.

And among people who say that there is discrimination against transgender people, the majority (54%) say acceptance has gone too far or been about right.

None of this is to say that this issue, or another social issue, isn’t important. But if we are dealing with a public that has limited bandwidth for these discussions, is this the issue left-wing politicians should run on? Especially in the face of the economic trajectory we are on? And especially when people who would otherwise vote for a left-wing politician on economic issues, are made to feel so disconnected because they don’t agree on social issues?

I ask this very simple question to people on the left: do you want to win? If not, if you would like to stay ideologically pure, it is time for you to leave politics. The economic stakes are simply too high. But if you would like to win, it is time to put the social issues to the side. It is time to take up income inequality, poverty, and homelessness as your flag. It is time to take a stance against corporations and big money interests. It is time to win.