The New Blue Divide: Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson with Lily Geismer

For decades, center-left parties in the West have been moving right on economic issues. They have also become less oriented to the working class, growing their support among the affluent and highly educated-what economist Thomas Piketty has dubbed the “Brahmin Left.”
Until recently, the U.S. Democratic Party has been no exception-leading to accusations, from both left and right, that it engages in culture wars at the expense of economics. In our Winter 2024 issue Can the Democrats Win?, political scientists Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson say that trend is over: the Democrats have decisively broken with the politics of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
In this conversation with political historian and forum respondent Lily Geismer, they discuss why the Democrats have taken a “U-turn” on economics, despite their growing reliance on affluent suburban voters, and what this transformation for the future of the party-and a nation facing down democratic crisis.
About the panelists:
Jacob S. Hacker is Stanley B. Resor Professor of Political Science at Yale University. He has coauthored four books with Paul Pierson, including Winner-Take-All Politics.
Paul Pierson is John Gross Endowed Chair and Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He has coauthored four books with Jacob S. Hacker.
Lily Geismer is Professor of History at Claremont McKenna College. Her latest book is Left Behind: The Democrats’ Failed Attempt to Solve Inequality.
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[@findbridge1790]

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