Oliver Anthony and David Brooks: A Partial Defense

If there’s a question that cuts straight to the foundational disagreement between “establishment” conservatives and the “New Right,” it’s one about blame. Whose fault is it, exactly, that many individuals and communities in middle America find themselves in states of dissatisfaction, decay, and discombobulation? For the “establishment” crowd, the decay is self-produced. The resentment that led many to support Donald Trump is a product of local manufacture; white, working-class communities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, rather than making the adjustments necessary to thrive in the 21st century, decided to sit down, throw their hands up, and reminisce of a time when they were privileged. In this story, Appalachians had everything they needed to thrive alongside coastal cities; the determining factor was their own lack of effort.

But there’s a competing tale, one in which middle America was left behind by elites who exported Midwest factory jobs to China, preached destructive social norms to which they did not adhere themselves, and shrugged off legitimate concerns about rising income inequality and stagnant wages. In this story, white working-class despair was an import from decision-makers in New York City and Washington, D.C.

About the Author

Natan Ehrenreich

Natan Ehrenreich, a recent graduate of Yeshiva University, is a writing fellow at National Review.

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If there’s a question that cuts straight to the foundational disagreement between “establishment” conservatives and the “New Right,” it’s one about blame. Whose fault is it, exactly, that many individuals and communities in middle America find themselves in states of dissatisfaction, decay, and discombobulation? For the “establishment” crowd, the decay is self-produced. The resentment that led many to support Donald Trump is a product of local manufacture; white, working-class communities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, rather than making the adjustments necessary to thrive in the 21st century, decided to sit down, throw their hands up, and reminisce of a time when they were privileged. In this story, Appalachians had everything they needed to thrive alongside coastal cities; the determining factor was their own lack of effort.

But there’s a competing tale, one in which middle America was left behind by elites who exported Midwest factory jobs to China, preached destructive social norms to which they did not adhere themselves, and shrugged off legitimate concerns about rising income inequality and stagnant wages. In this story, white working-class despair was an import from decision-makers in New York City and Washington, D.C.