No, Politics is Not Downstream of Culture
Prior to his death, the late conservative firebrand Andrew Breitbart was apparently fond of saying that “politics is downstream of culture.” After the 2016 election season, Breitbart’s prediction was routinely hailed, with the political rise of “cultural icon” Donald Trump to the Presidency utilized as an example of its foresight. Despite this claim, the political realities of 2019 cast a long shadow on the claim that politics is truly downstream of culture.
To parse the meaning of the phrase that “politics is downstream of culture,” this appears to broadly refer to two interrelated concepts: (a) American politics is deeply influenced by cultural considerations (moreso than the reverse influence) and (b) much of the citizenry takes its political cues from cultural ideas rather than specific policy debates. In 2019, the first of these claims is nearly indefensible, while the second stands on rather shaky ground.
Looking at first of these two theories, it is almost mind-boggling that this idea has received widespread acclaim. Scrutinizing it carefully, even prior to the rise of Donald Trump, establishes its falsity. American culture encompasses a broad range of items from the arts (Hollywood, the music industry, literature, theatres, museums, and so on) to “the academy” (the intellectual elite populating tenured positions at the country’s universities).* Assessing the various aspects of culture, Hollywood is far left. The music and literature industries are solidly left. With the exception of a few disciplines, universities are often radically left, so much so that by comparison many prominent Hollywood leftists look downright moderate in comparison. Most of these cultural institutions have, in fact, moved significantly leftward over the past two generations.
In sharp contrast, American politics remains stubbornly center right. Since the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, American voters have turned over full control of the government (the Presidency and both Houses of Congress) to the leftist party for a grand total of … 4 years (1993/94 and 2009/10), with the former at the inception of the Presidency of centrist Democrat Bill Clinton and the latter requiring an economic catastrophe under a Republican President. Had the majority of voters been taking cues from the cultural influences they most often encounter, leftward politics would have not only prevailed, they would have thrived. In fact, the growing shrillness from the mouthpieces of leftism may well be driven by the repeated refusal of the body politic to enact their preferred agenda.
Tackling the second of these concepts, the idea that broad cultural cues drive individual political behavior is taking a beating in 2019. It is simply undeniable that the culturally-influential portions of the left-of-center American political party (obviously the Democrats) are employing many megaphones to inform their voters that hard leftism is in vogue. From Alyssa Milano’s #MeToo advocacy to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal to the clamor about reparations for descendants of slaves, there is a cacophony of leftist cultural voices (and, in some cases, icons) demanding a hard left turn. Working class Democratic voters — many of whom are African American and Hispanic minorities — are responding to this “influence” by squarely backing Joe Biden for President, the campaign which appears to be the least interested in cultural revolution and the most interested in maintaining traditional Democratic dogma.
In fact, recent electoral behavior in both the United States and elsewhere casts significant doubt on the claim regarding the paramount nature of culture on political behavior. The voters who elevated Donald Trump to the Oval Office were largely working class Midwesterners who, as recently as 2012, supported Barack Obama. The cultural cues which may have influenced a voter to gravitate from Obama to Trump are admittedly lost on this author, though the economic ones — both Obama and Trump employed distinct “working man” themes — seem fairly apparent. Abroad, the recent Australian election, where the center right party won a shocking upset after trailing in every poll for nearly two years, saw working class Australians reject proposed leftist policies intended to curb economic activity alleged to contribute to climate change, apparently on the basis that their own continued employment was of greater importance than a pet issue of the culturally influential.
While it remains possible that a handful of politicians can utilize cultural credibility or influence to garner more votes (e.g., Donald Trump in the 2016 Republican primaries), the supposed influence of culture on politics is dramatically overstated. Politics is not downstream of culture — politics resides on an entirely different river.
*A potential counterargument to this piece would be that it defines “culture” too narrowly. However, a broad definition of the term “culture” would arguably encompass the entirety of what it means to live in America, rendering the claim the “politics is downstream of culture” effectively meaningless.
Well said
Thank you!