The Politics of Inequality, Essay Example

In this chapter, Krugman examines what he calls “the radicalization of the GOP” (pg 159) -that is, the takeover of the Republican party by “movement conservatives” (pg 159) -over the last thirty to forty years. He asserts that, for many years, there were more similarities than there were differences between the two major political parties, and that the bitter partisanship on display in contemporary politics is a relatively recent phenomenon, driven by conservative ideologues intent on dismantling the Welfare State and slashing taxes on the wealthy.

Krugman describes a time when the two parties were less combative; agreements on legislation were often reached with support from both parties, and politicians from each party sometimes supported agendas that reflected the interests of the opposition party. Democrat President John F. Kennedy, for example, supported tax cuts, an idea most closely associated with Republicans today, while much of the support for Medicare in 1965 was offered by the Republicans, though in more recent times they have voted to cut the program’s funding.

Beginning with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, the Republican Party began to swing to the right. Reagan pushed to lower taxes for the wealthy while also pushing for deep cuts to programs like Social Security, Food Stamps, and Unemployment Insurance. Though some of the changes made under Reagan –such as the tax cuts- were rolled back under Bill Clinton’s presidency, the Reagan agenda was picked up again when George W. Bush took office.

Krugman describes how the push towards the right wing of the political spectrum has actually been the result of a well-orchestrated effort by a relatively small number of people who have worked together under “an interlocking set of institutions” (pg 163) to achieve these changes to the Republican Party. He explains that the party establishes loyalty in a number of ways, such as by guaranteeing high-paying jobs as lobbyists for politicians who toe the party line, or by cutting financial support for the campaigns of those who don’t. Ultimately their agenda is to “undo the twentieth century” (pg 163) by slashing taxes on the wealthy and eliminating most social welfare programs.

Krugman asserts that this move to the right has been fueled by several factors that date back to the 1960s and 1970s. Young conservatives who were turned off by the radical left movement of the 1960s began to enter the political arena; businesses who were tired of dealing with unions (which were largely supporters of the Democrats) gave their support to Republicans, and the increasing disparity between the wealthy and the lower- and middle-classes gave the wealthy both more political influence (because of their money) and more incentive to support the Republicans in an effort to seek and maintain tax breaks.

These factors, coupled with the fact that, as Krugman sees it, the Democrats have not managed to create a similarly unified party, go far in explaining the success of those who have pushed the Republican Party so far to the right over the last several decades.