The elite vs. the middle class

In "Let's Rebalance," published in First Things, R.R. Reno writes that society needs a rebalancing. Too much attention and too many resources are dedicated to the elite. Our leadership class has degenerated to where it looks out for itself and lets the devil take the rest of the country. It wasn't always this way. America was built into a great nation with leaders who put the country before themselves. This was patriotic self-sacrifice, a concept that's totally alien to today's elite. In contrast, Donald Trump is a refreshing throwback to another era.

Our elite aggressively game the system for their own advantage at the expense of everyone else. This is why the wealth disparity in the country has grown while real wages for the middle class have stagnated if not fallen for a generation. The elite take perverse glee in punching down on average middle-class Americans. Reno writes, "[T]he successful match their self-praise with vigorous criticism of the supposed vulgarity of those below them, often to the point of labeling them racist, homophobes, or some other kind of moral criminal." This has opened up a divide between those whose "talents are attractive to elite institutions and those whose aren't," and this is shredding the social contract. Multiculturalism, not nationalism, is the ideology of our globalized ruling class. Diversity is a shibboleth that shifts attention from the substantive question of whether our elites serve the nation's interest to the cosmetic question of whether or not the rich and powerful look like America. It's entirely possible to confect racial and other forms of diversity at elite universities and in C-suites while selling out Middle America. This serves the leadership class well. It prevents the many from uniting to challenge the wealth, power, and privileges of the few. Reno observes: The white, black, brown, and yellow skin of the bus drivers, electricians, and salesmen I encounter does not make them talk like university students or human resource functionaries at tech companies. They are proud of their work, and they express great pride in our country – even as they reserve well-deserved scorn for our ruling class. Ironically, the ruling class control much of the country, but in a real sense, they are not part of it. This is what is in drastic need of being rebalanced. Either the elite need to undergo a major adjustment in attitude or they need to be replaced. The rise of the Tea Party and the election of Donald Trump are signs that the pendulum is swinging back to historical standards. Middle America will no longer genuflect before the "successful" and accept the elite's radical views on identity, globalism, sex, and an entire host of other issues. In a healthy society, Trump wouldn't be the sole voice crying out in the cultural wilderness to Make America Great Again. He would merely be part of the choir.