Thursday, January 12, 2012

Rising Perception of “Class Conflict” or Temporary TOMA

According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, the results of which are published under the somewhat inflammatory headline Rising Share of Americans See Conflict Between Rich and Poor, Americans’ perceptions of class conflict has become part of the “national consciousness.”

I wonder, is this actually the case, or, is this alleged rising perception of “class conflict” among Americans just a temporary top of the mind awareness (TOMA), due to the news cycle bombardment regarding the OWS movement, including words of encouragement and acknowledgement from public officials, including Obama’s public references to “class conflict,” around the time the survey was conducted (December 6 - December 19, 2011).  You know, kind of like when you’re in the market for a new set of tires, or car battery, and for some reason you seem to be especially aware of tire or car battery advertisements because they’re at the top of your mind?

UPDATE:  James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal in the Best of the Web for January 12, 2012, The Phony Class War.

The perception of “class conflict” has grown because the media have paid the putative conflict so much attention. They have done so in part for ideological reasons—lefty journalists have had a weird preoccupation with “income inequality” for as long as we can remember—but also in part because it’s newsworthy, especially when the president of the United States is trying to foment class war.

Posted by John Venlet on 01/12 at 11:06 AM
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