Are younger Democrats becoming less progressive?
Thomas Edsall’s The Coming Democratic Schism is today’s must read for Democrats — especially for older Democrats, who may want to pop an extra Prozac to fortify themselves for the experience.
Young Democrats, reports Edsall, have a strong libertarian streak and, compared to older Democrats, far less confidence that government can, or should, do more to mitigate suffering and deliver social and economic justice.
Here are a few examples:
- A 56 percent majority of the younger group of Democrats believes that “Wall Street helps the American economy more than it hurts,” with just 36 percent believing that Wall Street hurts the economy. Older Democrats have almost exactly the opposite view. 56 percent believe that Wall Street hurts the economy; 36 percent believe it helps.
- Asked by Pew to choose between two statements — “Racial discrimination is the main reason why many blacks can’t get ahead” and “Blacks who can’t get ahead are mostly responsible for their own condition” – the older Democratic cohort blamed discrimination, by an 80 to 10 margin. In contrast, only 19 percent of the younger group of Democrats blamed discrimination, with 68 percent saying that blacks “are mostly responsible for their own condition.”
- Eighty-three percent of the older group of Democratic voters believes that “circumstances” are to blame for poverty; only 9 percent blame “a lack of effort.” The younger group of pro-Democratic voters is split, with 47 percent blaming circumstances and 42 percent blaming lack of effort. An overwhelming majority of the older cohort, 83-12, believes that “government should do more to help needy Americans, even if it means more debt,” while a majority of the younger Democratic respondents, 56-39, believes “government cannot afford to do much more.”
- A research paper, “Generational Difference in Perception of Tax Equity and Attitudes Towards Compliance,” by three professors of accounting — Susan Jurney, Tim Rupert and Martha Wartick — found that “the Millennial generation was less likely to recommend progressive taxation” than older generations.
This suggests younger Democrats may be converging with Republicans, even tea partiers, on economic issues. The policy gap remains wide, but the convergence is worrisome. If it continues, it ultimately will prevent the Democratic Party from seeking redistributive solutions to social and economic ills while contributing to economic inequality, leaving the less fortunate without a major political party as their champion.
Some generational wisdom from Crosby, Stills, and Nash, completes this post.
