Books › What's the matter with Kansas?
What's the matter with Kansas?
First published 2004 · 460 pages
A witty, exasperated deep-dive into the cultural sleight-of-hand that reshaped American politics.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sitting at a diner with your smartest, most exasperated friend as they map out the great American political paradox on a napkin. It moves at a brisk, polemical clip, fueled by a potent mix of historical curiosity and wry, sardonic humor. The atmosphere is intellectually charged and deeply frustrated, immersing you in the cultural battlegrounds of the Midwest to examine how cultural grievances eclipsed economic interests. The prose is sharp, accessible, and unapologetically opinionated, cutting through political jargon with vivid metaphors and biting wit. It will delight political junkies, sociology nerds, and anyone who has ever stared at an election map and wondered how the working class was convinced to vote against its own wallet.
- Mood
- intellectually charged
- cynical
- inquisitive
- urgent
- Tone
- wry
- sardonic
- passionate
- analytical
- frustrated
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- the weaponization of culture · class betrayal · the illusion of populism · rural-urban divide · historical amnesia
- The writing
- Sharp, polemical, and highly readable, laced with dark humor and vivid, conversational metaphors.
- The arc
- Moves from bewildered frustration to a sharp, clarifying, and ultimately sobering understanding of modern political realignment.
- Who it's for
- Political junkies and progressive thinkers seeking a witty, historical lens on why working-class voters embrace right-wing populism.
Content notes
- political polarization
- classism
About the book
One of "our most insightful social observers"* cracks the great political mystery of our time: how conservatism, once a marker of class privilege, became the creed of millions of ordinary Americans
With his acclaimed wit and acuity, Thomas Frank turns his eye on what he calls the "thirty-year backlash"—the populist revolt against a supposedly liberal establishment. The high point of that backlash is the Republican Party's success in building the most unnatural of alliances: between blue-collar Midwesterners and Wall Street business interests, workers and bosses, populists and right-wingers.
In asking "what 's the matter with Kansas?"—how a place famous for its radicalism became one of the most conservative states in the union—Frank, a native Kansan and onetime Republican, seeks to answer some broader American riddles: Why do so many of us vote against our economic interests? Where's the outrage at corporate manipulators? And whatever happened to middle-American progressivism? The questions are urgent as well as provocative. Frank answers them by examining pop conservatism—the bestsellers, the radio talk shows, the vicious political combat—and showing how our long culture wars have left us with an electorate far more concerned with their leaders' "values" and down-home qualities than with their stands on hard questions of policy.
A brilliant analysis—and funny to boot—What's the Matter with Kansas? presents a critical assessment of who we are, while telling a remarkable story of how a group of frat boys, lawyers, and CEOs came to convince a nation that they spoke on behalf of the People.
Description from Open Library.
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