More on those Predators (i.e., Turchin’s Elite)
The attitudes guiding their thinking and actions documented by Scott Rasmussen
The Committee for Unleashing Prosperity just released a summary of the results of a September 2023 Rasmussen poll of elites,[1] the “1%”, entitled “Them vs. Us”. The poll demonstrates the extent of the self-imposed alienation of these Americans from the rest of the residents of this country. Given the extreme amounts of influence this 1% has on legislative policy and consequent group actions in the US, and given the breakdown of the constitutional American social immune system, the report is well worth reading in full. According to the report, the major findings of the study are:
• In a time when most Americans have suffered a loss of real take-home pay, 74% of elites say they are financially better off today than in the past versus 20% of all Americans.
• Nearly six in ten say there is too much individual freedom in America – double the rate of all Americans.
• More than two-thirds (67%) favor rationing of vital energy and food sources to combat the threat of climate change.
• In stark contrast to the rest of America, 70% of the Elites trust the government to “do the right thing most of the time.”
• Two-thirds (67%) say teachers and other educational professionals should decide what children are taught rather than letting parents decide.
• Somewhere between half and two-thirds favor banning things like SUVs, gas stoves, air conditioning, and non-essential air travel to protect the environment.
• About six of ten elites have a favorable opinion of the so-called talking professions—lawyers, lobbyists, politicians, and journalists.
• President Joe Biden enjoys an 84% job approval rating from this group – roughly twice as high as the general public.
[1] From the report: “The survey is a first-of-its-kind look at the views of the American Elite – defined as people having at least one post-graduate degree, earning at least $150,000 annually, and living in high-population density areas (more than 10,000 people per square mile in their zip code) – and compares them to what the average American thinks. The Elites represent 1% of the U.S. population but have an outsized voice on public policy in the United States, with their views seeming somehow to dominate the national conversation.”