War Of The Privileged

The far left and right tribes are engaged in political conflict that is essentially a wealthy-white civil war

Tribe: In anthropology, a tribe is a human social group.
Tribalism: The state of being organized by, or advocating for, tribes or tribal lifestyles.

There are many ways to classify the citizens of a society. There are the standby categories of race, heritage, age, education and income. There is the category of children or no children. Placement along the political spectrum is another. And there’s also identity, religiosity, social foundation and tribalism. Socio-political categories such as elitism and populism can represent varying combinations of these categories.

Politically, it’s the combinations that reveal much about who is drawn to which issues from what points of view. “Tribalism” has taken on increased significance in modern societies as a result of trends in how political systems, capitalism and socialism — particularly democratic socialism — have reshaped the economic and societal lives of many. Values and cultural traditions that are commonly held help identify tribes within a larger society. When diversity meets tribalism, there are often problems and issues.

In the US, anthropologists and sociologists have identified seven categories of tribalism, including the most extreme of them. For me, the most significant surprise is that the far left and right tribes are engaged in political conflict that is essentially a wealthy-white civil war between educated, successful Caucasians. In a weird way, they have the time to devote to this conflict, whereas those in other tribal categories are too busy to be politically active and engaged.

These two tribes are more visible than the others even though they each represent only six to seven percent of the population. They each bond around moral foundations that are essential to their ideology, they participate in group think and they vote along “party” lines. Above all, they identify what they believe is any menace to their vision of society, and thus who should not be allowed to be part of that society. Thus, strict values and authority are fundamental. This explains how some who live in a (more or less) functioning democracy are drawn to authoritarian values.

As one might expect, the two opposing tribes have diametrically opposite views on many issues and topics. This division covers a diverse array of subjects including immigration, sexual harassment, racism, globalization, the degree to which life is random or controllable and so on. This itself is hardly new or unusual, but what is profoundly concerning is the cult-like beliefs, with little variety of thought or dissension. The better news is this is not true for the other five tribe categories.

The not-so-good news is that these other tribes, lacking coherent socio-political philosophies, and being occupied with day-to-day life, are easily distracted from the importance of being involved — if only by voting for those who are moderate and thoughtful. Yes, I’m suggesting pragmatism, and I’m not going to pretend that most tribe members have it in abundance, but they have far more than the two tribes outside center-left to center-right.

I have to emphasize that the warring privileged whites in both outer tribes do not make a credible case against those they deem elite, nor for populism. Predictably, there’s little in the way of facts and information but lots of talking points. Such ignorance does not bring wisdom to the college-educated members of these warring left-versus-right tribes. They are failing their society and themselves. What they both share is a devotion to ideology and to ideological purity, and these are the definition of failure in any society.

In a couple of weeks we are going to vote in a mid-term election. The more who do, the more likely that the threats to democracy, the planet and our moral character can be pushed back. That would be the most pragmatic act of citizenship I can imagine. The mainstream majority, the five other tribes, can reverse the doomed-to-failure governance now in power. In 2020 this demonstration of citizenship can complete the rescue of a society that should be evolving forward, not devolving backward.