The vibes-based problem in politics
We need a vibes-based solution
A new take from the right is that what a graph says isn’t important. A person’s “lived experience” is more important. This kind of sentiment has been flowing freely on the left for sometime, and now this confused thinking is crossing the partisan divide. Why does it have to be the worst ideas which garner bipartisan support!?
The more fleshed-out argument here, is that statistics, like the growth of real (adjusted for inflation) median wages over time, don’t really mean much when people feel like they’re worse off. The implied conclusion is that we need some drastic changes in the government and economy to fix this—so that such people then feel like they’re better off.
The drastic changes are different if you’re on the left or the right, but they must be drastic nonetheless! On the far left it’s a call for the socialist revolution, on the far right it’s yearning for an authoritarian leader and deporting a bunch of immigrants, and on both it’s making the billionaires pay!
This is entirely misguided. The problem that’s been identified (directly by those advocating for drastic change no less) is with a person’s lived experience, their perception of reality, not reality itself. In short, ~vibes~. In my opinion, the best way to solve a vibes-based problem, is with a vibes-based solution. Because when people like Mike Solana accept the fact that real median wages have risen substantially (and presumably his acceptance of many other economic statistics that show positive results), it is already conceded that their problem is not fact-based. So if the facts of reality are not the problem, then why should changing facts of reality (i.e. overthrowing capitalism/democracy) be apart of the solution?
I think we should try to understand this vibes problem more thoroughly. In order to do this, we need to understand the “guy” referenced in the tweet (I will hold my ground on this nomenclature!). At its core, this vibes-based problem seems to be a general feeling of pessimism and resentment, that you missed out on something, that the deck was stacked against you. It manifests in many ways. On the right you can find this in their pining for an imagined 1950s American utopia. On the left, you can see it in their deep resentment of the rich. So how can we go about remedying this feeling? As I said, I think a vibes-based solution is the only sensible answer. What I mean by a vibes-based solution, is that this solution is something that should exist on the psychological/personal/social level. But such a solution is still no easy task! Maybe it simply looks like making an effort to see your friends and family more often. Or taking a walk at lunch every day. Or reading a classic work of fiction, or going to the gym to lift heavy weights, trying out a new church, traveling to another country, moving to a new city, seeing a therapist, getting a dog, starting a family. It’s hard to say, vibes are a tricky thing.
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Although I think there is one area in “fact-based, economic reality” that is due for improvement: housing. The rising cost of housing is a common cry today, and I think it’s justified. Of course this still does not call for revolutions, rather, policy targeted specifically at housing would be the most sensible option. After all, there’s no need dismantle capitalism or tear down democracy when today’s reality looks like this:
