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Originally Posted by jayeff
There are no simple answers, but people only want simple answers. We are entering a very dangerous time, because it is far easier to sell extreme ideas, particularly those of the right-wing, via slogans and sound-bites, while concepts from the center and left usually need explanation. The more our politicial environment is dumbed-down, the harder it becomes for moderates to be heard and the greater the temptation simply to win votes by pressing peoples' buttons.
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So arguments from the left are nuanced and those from the right are simple? I don't find that to be the case at all.
Just this week you have the Chairman of the Democratic Party calling the Republicans the "white Christian party". What is that but a soundbyte intended to increase the minority vote for the Democratic party? Of course, the Republicans do the exact same stuff on different issues.
Consider the politics of economics. You can read the arguments of Joseph Stiglitz or Robert Rubin on the left. Martin Feldstein and Milton Friedman on the right. There are a few best-sellers in there.
People find arguments they agree with to be intelligent and complex and those they disagree with to be unfounded and simple.