The Glenn Show Paul Starr – Liberal Revolution, Conservative Revenge
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Dec 5, 2025 Paul Starr, a sociologist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, dives into his book, American Contradiction. He explores the ongoing tension between liberation movements and institutional resistance, considering the black freedom struggle as a catalyst for change. Starr critiques political responses to social issues, including Trump's immigration policies as acts of revenge. Media fragmentation and its impact on public discourse are also discussed. He emphasizes the need for democratic resilience and learning from history, advocating for renewal in liberal democracy.
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Revolutions Create Lasting Precedents
- Social movements for racial, gender, and sexual equality produced durable legal and moral precedents that reshaped American society.
- Those advances generated powerful backlashes and a later political moment that Starr calls 'revenge.'
Policy Choices Fueled Political Revenge
- Policy choices like free trade, deregulation, and immigration shifts had unintended distributive effects that hollowed out working-class security.
- Those economic disruptions helped produce the contemporary movement for political 'revenge.'
Two Waves Of Economic Disruption
- Deindustrialization hit in two waves: first devastating Black communities, then many white working-class areas after the China shock.
- These economic shocks produced social pathologies that underpinned political resentment and instability.
