Book Review

Paul Krugman: Strictly Business

"...And yet. Ivins and Dubose track the outrages; Conason exposes the hypocrisy. But why is the public so easily manipulated? One answer is the supineness of much of the press, radio, and television, a fact documented by Conason. But that just pushes the question back a step. What is it about today's right that lets it bully the press so easily, that creates such an effective machine of propaganda, intimidation, and base mobilization?

Money is surely part of the story. Recent statistics confirm that income inequality in the United States has returned to Gilded Age levels; maybe, then, our newly empowered rich are in a position to buy themselves a return to Gilded Age politics. Religion is also part of the story: in effect, the religious right--a majority of whose adherents are very much losers in the new economic order--seems to have made a deal to support low taxes for the rich and weak regulation in return for a more Bible-friendly government. And 9/11 was, of course, the best gift the right could have wished for--a perfect occasion to shift politics to a permanent war footing, in which criticism of our leaders could be shouted down as unpatriotic. But the success of today's right, despite its manifest greediness and irresponsibility, remains a puzzle. And it's a puzzle we'd better solve soon, if we want to preserve the America we grew up in.