trying to wrap my head around why everything in the US is turned into a political battle--from the most trivial culture war stuff to major national crises such as the response to COVID-19. Is it a Gramscian thing where a ruling class in crisis is unable to maintain ideological hegemony?

  • Reversi [none/use name]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I think handing off control of the states is a way for the right and business class to downplay the seriousness of the virus, not just a way to escape culpability for an election.

    • DecolonizeCatan [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      even if that's the case, Trump's decision was still hotly criticized by the liberal elite. The NYT and all the think-tank people seem to agree that the national government should have led the pandemic response--and they surely represent the business class as well. It just seems crazy to me that whether or not the US government should lead a pandemic response has become a part of the political debate rather than a point of assumed agreement among the different factions of US capitalists. I can't imagine this debate happening during Bush or Obama.

      • Reversi [none/use name]
        ·
        4 years ago

        I'm positive if Obama attempted to take command of this federally, he'd be accused by rightists of making some kind of elaborate power grab.