Modern Age - Winter 2016 - 14

MODERN AGE

WINTER 2016

do with the middle class in America, as reflected in the elitist disdain for the values of patriotism and military service.

T

he implications of this social polarization are ominous. As
Aristotle observed more than two millennia ago, middleclass-dominated societies are the most stable, just, and compassionate ones. Aristotle argued that the wealthy tend to be
arrogant and reckless, and that the economically insecure tend
to be resentful and destructive. But members of the middle class
tend to have more moderate desires, be more open to reason,
and have stronger communal ties and civic participation. Similar
observations were made by Christopher Lasch in The Revolt of the
Elites, where he argued that the social elites were undermining
America's republican vitality with their asocial cultural values and
absence of civic responsibility.
Progressive elites argue that income inequality lies at the
core of what is wrong with America. Consequently, the crisis of
income inequality demands and justifies a more active government agenda of redistribution, including higher taxes, higher
spending on government entitlements, and higher regulation of
business: in other words, expanding the public sector. And the
left has used this call for bigger government to paint themselves
as defenders of the working and middle classes, regardless of the
fact that a bigger government has not only failed to alleviate the
income gap but has widened it.
In the progressive view, the mere existence of income inequality provides an indictment to the free market economy. But this
highly partisan position irrationally presumes that everyone
should have the same income or that everyone wants to live the
same kind of life that would produce similar incomes.
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Modern Age - Winter 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Modern Age - Winter 2016

Contents
Modern Age - Winter 2016 - Cover1
Modern Age - Winter 2016 - Cover2
Modern Age - Winter 2016 - Contents
Modern Age - Winter 2016 - 2
Modern Age - Winter 2016 - 3
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Modern Age - Winter 2016 - Cover3
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