As a city dweller I’m fascinated by the political nostalgia exhibited by first gen, second gen, city dwellers who pretend to relate to the “wholesomeness” of the “salt of the earth” family farmer from whence they came. It seems to get stronger the farther removed from the farm and becomes a badge to wear proclaiming virtue and godliness. In the end it becomes a blinder to the harm being caused in their wake by Corporate Ag. As a backlash I constantly hear the “screw farmers, they are welfare queens polluting our water and air.” Typical of messaging today controlled by huge $$ on any side of any issue the possibility of common ground is lost to the noise makers.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Scott. Your observation is quite interesting. It would be interesting to collect opinion data to develop a working theory here and how it might relate to political attitudes on relevant issues. I'd have to think more about how to operationalize that.
Certainly interesting when listening to elected county supervisors who feel powerless in their control over who/how/when hog confinements are built, along with wind towers and/or solar projects. Same with carbon pipelines. And, our local election officials were against the shortening of the early voting dates as well. All are/were elected Republicans. And our elected Statehouse Representatives will come by once a month and pretend to listen to their constituents, then proceed to be unable to find “consensus” in both chambers, all the while pretending to care. Big money continues to run our state. Our online gambling revenues are taxed at the lowest rate in the nation (7%, same as Nevada).
Thanks for reading and commenting, David. What you are describing are the symptoms of uniparty control and centralization of authority in state government (e.g., declines in accountability and representation, no local autonomy to create local solutions, etc). For local governmental institutions, not only were they created to be administrative units with little autonomy, state governments have further restricted their autonomy in many policy areas. We've seen that here in Iowa both before the pandemic and after.
Thank you for clarifying something that I had not understood (except through bitter experience): "local governments (e.g., cities and counties) have been constructed primarily to be administrative agents of state governments and not policy incubators or innovators." I've experienced this in my involvement in local (Des Moines) politics and how resident led efforts to make change are generally preempted very quickly in our state legislature. It's very frustrating and really stymies community involvement.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Jean. Yes, limitations on local powers certainly limit municipal and county autonomy which can be frustrating for residents of those communities. And as you noted, local autonomy has been limited even further by pre-emptive restrictions adopted by the Iowa state legislature. And there is a real irony there because most legislators who supported pre-emptive restrictions would also claim to support local control which is being limited by the pre-emptive action.
Great intro and thought piece to an important problem. I think you might want to look back to the One-Party-South and how issues of democracy and political competition were resolved at the time.
I think part of the difference is that in some portion of the increasingly one-party-rural America there is an overlay of MAGA loyalty. And so UNLIKE the one party south of pre 1965 or so, there was a lot of genuine primary competition. Yet I am sure there were also instances of rural machines in these settings. But today's nationalization of local, even rural politics has also gotten significantly enmeshed with Trumpism.
Despite the fact that Trump's tariff threats are likely to endanger farm exports and hurt rural communities, they've been fairly quiet in pushing back on those policies. As for urban feelings about rural America, I think until recently my experience has been a kind of nostalgia and romanticization of the rural setting. Yes, there has always been some urban disdain for the rural and farm rube but there is also a kind of yearning for what seemed to be the simpler, more honest, and close-knit community and family life that supposedly marked small-town America.
I also think that for structural reasons urban political leadership, especially Democratic ones, find the formal privileging of rural communities, which tend to increasingly be overrepresented in ways that block what urban majorities believe to be important policy change is increasing negative views among urban folks.
Finally, rural communities do have agency, and insofar as they have adopted increasingly hostile, antagonistic views towards those parts of the nation that are critical to future scientific and economic competition the mutual antagonism between rural and non-rural American threatens not only civility between sections, but also undermines the ability of the US to compete in an increasingly fraught planet.
I could babble more, but I think you're on to a big issue, and I wish you the best going forward.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Max. All great points which give me more things to think about in this space.
I think part of the perceived disconnect regarding the tariff piece is that so few rural Americans actually farm anymore due to the proliferation of corporate ag, so the impacts on exports were felt more so by corporate interests (who were bailed out royally!) than by family farmers.
The nostalgia and romanticization of the rural America is also an important piece (another reader commented on this as well). One thing I really hadn't thought about until recently was the impact of seasonal tourism on many of these rural communities. While there is money that flows into those communities, it disappears for many months of the year. Additionally, the purchasing of "second" homes in these communities has negative impacts on those who live there permanently in the form of higher property values and property taxes. Another topic we will focus on this semester.
I hope your course covers the apparent ignorance among our entire populace, urban and rural, about how to engage in civil discourse and debate. Nobody seems to understand how to listen and provide feedback in an effort to reach compromise. In fact, compromise itself appears to be a foreign concept. How did we get in this hole and how can we emerge from it (rather than using social media to further alienate ourselves from one another)?
Thanks for reading and commenting, Josiah. We will be discussing the erosion of social capital in our society and how it factors into the state of our politics. Listening and respectful dialogue certainly matter!
Our provincial government in Alberta is also exploiting this division. I look forward to your columns. I can recommend Jared Wesley’s substack as a source of political science research in Alberta.
When pursuing my poli sci degree the latest concept then was 'megalopsis'. Never once discussed rural issues. That was then, this is now . Great that you are doing this! Look forward to hearing more
Thanks for reading and commenting, Thea. Hopefully new disciplinary scholarship focused on rural issues and governance will lead to a focus on curriculum development in undergraduate and graduate programs. I plan to post periodically on the course, so please stay tuned!
As a city dweller I’m fascinated by the political nostalgia exhibited by first gen, second gen, city dwellers who pretend to relate to the “wholesomeness” of the “salt of the earth” family farmer from whence they came. It seems to get stronger the farther removed from the farm and becomes a badge to wear proclaiming virtue and godliness. In the end it becomes a blinder to the harm being caused in their wake by Corporate Ag. As a backlash I constantly hear the “screw farmers, they are welfare queens polluting our water and air.” Typical of messaging today controlled by huge $$ on any side of any issue the possibility of common ground is lost to the noise makers.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Scott. Your observation is quite interesting. It would be interesting to collect opinion data to develop a working theory here and how it might relate to political attitudes on relevant issues. I'd have to think more about how to operationalize that.
Certainly interesting when listening to elected county supervisors who feel powerless in their control over who/how/when hog confinements are built, along with wind towers and/or solar projects. Same with carbon pipelines. And, our local election officials were against the shortening of the early voting dates as well. All are/were elected Republicans. And our elected Statehouse Representatives will come by once a month and pretend to listen to their constituents, then proceed to be unable to find “consensus” in both chambers, all the while pretending to care. Big money continues to run our state. Our online gambling revenues are taxed at the lowest rate in the nation (7%, same as Nevada).
Thanks for reading and commenting, David. What you are describing are the symptoms of uniparty control and centralization of authority in state government (e.g., declines in accountability and representation, no local autonomy to create local solutions, etc). For local governmental institutions, not only were they created to be administrative units with little autonomy, state governments have further restricted their autonomy in many policy areas. We've seen that here in Iowa both before the pandemic and after.
Thank you for clarifying something that I had not understood (except through bitter experience): "local governments (e.g., cities and counties) have been constructed primarily to be administrative agents of state governments and not policy incubators or innovators." I've experienced this in my involvement in local (Des Moines) politics and how resident led efforts to make change are generally preempted very quickly in our state legislature. It's very frustrating and really stymies community involvement.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Jean. Yes, limitations on local powers certainly limit municipal and county autonomy which can be frustrating for residents of those communities. And as you noted, local autonomy has been limited even further by pre-emptive restrictions adopted by the Iowa state legislature. And there is a real irony there because most legislators who supported pre-emptive restrictions would also claim to support local control which is being limited by the pre-emptive action.
Fascinating. Will look forward to continuing stories about your class and its content.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Jim. I plan to post periodically about it, so stay tuned!
Great intro and thought piece to an important problem. I think you might want to look back to the One-Party-South and how issues of democracy and political competition were resolved at the time.
I think part of the difference is that in some portion of the increasingly one-party-rural America there is an overlay of MAGA loyalty. And so UNLIKE the one party south of pre 1965 or so, there was a lot of genuine primary competition. Yet I am sure there were also instances of rural machines in these settings. But today's nationalization of local, even rural politics has also gotten significantly enmeshed with Trumpism.
Despite the fact that Trump's tariff threats are likely to endanger farm exports and hurt rural communities, they've been fairly quiet in pushing back on those policies. As for urban feelings about rural America, I think until recently my experience has been a kind of nostalgia and romanticization of the rural setting. Yes, there has always been some urban disdain for the rural and farm rube but there is also a kind of yearning for what seemed to be the simpler, more honest, and close-knit community and family life that supposedly marked small-town America.
I also think that for structural reasons urban political leadership, especially Democratic ones, find the formal privileging of rural communities, which tend to increasingly be overrepresented in ways that block what urban majorities believe to be important policy change is increasing negative views among urban folks.
Finally, rural communities do have agency, and insofar as they have adopted increasingly hostile, antagonistic views towards those parts of the nation that are critical to future scientific and economic competition the mutual antagonism between rural and non-rural American threatens not only civility between sections, but also undermines the ability of the US to compete in an increasingly fraught planet.
I could babble more, but I think you're on to a big issue, and I wish you the best going forward.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Max. All great points which give me more things to think about in this space.
I think part of the perceived disconnect regarding the tariff piece is that so few rural Americans actually farm anymore due to the proliferation of corporate ag, so the impacts on exports were felt more so by corporate interests (who were bailed out royally!) than by family farmers.
The nostalgia and romanticization of the rural America is also an important piece (another reader commented on this as well). One thing I really hadn't thought about until recently was the impact of seasonal tourism on many of these rural communities. While there is money that flows into those communities, it disappears for many months of the year. Additionally, the purchasing of "second" homes in these communities has negative impacts on those who live there permanently in the form of higher property values and property taxes. Another topic we will focus on this semester.
I hope your course covers the apparent ignorance among our entire populace, urban and rural, about how to engage in civil discourse and debate. Nobody seems to understand how to listen and provide feedback in an effort to reach compromise. In fact, compromise itself appears to be a foreign concept. How did we get in this hole and how can we emerge from it (rather than using social media to further alienate ourselves from one another)?
Thanks for reading and commenting, Josiah. We will be discussing the erosion of social capital in our society and how it factors into the state of our politics. Listening and respectful dialogue certainly matter!
Our provincial government in Alberta is also exploiting this division. I look forward to your columns. I can recommend Jared Wesley’s substack as a source of political science research in Alberta.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Gail. And thanks for the Substack reference!
When pursuing my poli sci degree the latest concept then was 'megalopsis'. Never once discussed rural issues. That was then, this is now . Great that you are doing this! Look forward to hearing more
Thanks for reading and commenting, Thea. Hopefully new disciplinary scholarship focused on rural issues and governance will lead to a focus on curriculum development in undergraduate and graduate programs. I plan to post periodically on the course, so please stay tuned!
Excellent that you are doing this.
Thanks, Jim!
Well when the team of flim flam men are running the show, what can you expect?