What Would Durkheim Do?

Let Krugman explain, from his column today:

Republicans, once hailed as the “party of ideas,” have become the party of stupid.

Now, I don’t mean that G.O.P. politicians are, on average, any dumber than their Democratic counterparts. And I certainly don’t mean to question the often frightening smarts of Republican political operatives.

What I mean, instead, is that know-nothingism — the insistence that there are simple, brute-force, instant-gratification answers to every problem, and that there’s something effeminate and weak about anyone who suggests otherwise — has become the core of Republican policy and political strategy. The party’s de facto slogan has become: “Real men don’t think things through.”

It is pure political cynicism to advocate policies that you know won't work. The strategy is a key part of the political spectacle. Convince voters that the situation is simple and the worse thing to do it think about it. Appeal to childishness ("You can have that pony if you close your eyes and wish hard enough!") and the worst in people ("They don't look like us; it must be their fault!") in order to get into power to serve the interests of the corporate class. Blame the "thinking class" (such as teachers or scientists or all educated professionals) when things go inevitably wrong and push for more oversimplification and posturing.

It seems to work perfectly in a country with a lazy, vain electorate.

Maybe 2008 will be different. Here's hoping.