Ruy Teixeira: Democrat Delusions Aren't Going Away Any Time Soon

Agreed.

But a disagreement: the Dems aren't economic determinists anymore--but they remain cultural/social determinists of a different sort. They are afflicted by societism which is a form of irrationalism: basically only non-rational social causes influence belief. In fact, society even "constructs" reality itself... As is normal for such things, these views are rarely clearly articulated or explicitly endorsed--but they show up so commonly in the justifications/rationalizations the left gives for its policies and actions that it's undeniably operating at some level.

   The important thing is: humans--and especially non-leftists--never believe or act on genuinely good reasons. We are always pushed around by irrational social forces. Economic forces used to be the most popular on the left. Now the Standard Litany of prejudices--the boilerplate "-ism"s and "-phobia"s--are the preferred version. I tend to blame Marx and Freud for the left's bizarre obsession with hidden, non-rational motives...but, honestly, I'm not sure where it ultimately comes from.