The Daily Planet #41: The Petrostate, Part 2

There was a time when people thought Trump was gone for ever - it still seems incredible that he's back in power after trying to abet an insurrection, but that's the least of our worries these days.

Anyway, in those heady days of building back better, people thought the coalition holding the carbon economy together was beginning to fray. If true, the death of the carbon coalition would have marked a profound shift in the United States' political and economic landscape. For three generations, the carbon coalition - anchored in a fossil fuel-intensive agro-industrial economy - underpinned social peace by distributing income across labor, business, and rural sectors. This coalition thrived on industries like oil, coal, steel, and manufacturing, creating stable jobs and a shared prosperity.

In contrast, the post-carbon era is dominated by knowledge-intensive industries such as technology, finance, and creative services. These sectors rely less on fossil fuels and more on information and innovation, creating a stark divide between two competing coalitions. The carbon coalition, largely aligned with the Republican Party, fights to preserve its declining industries and way of life, while the post-carbon coalition, centered in Democratic strongholds, pushes for ambitious climate policies like the Green New Deal.

All this is to say that the U.S. is a Red Petrostate married to a Blue Electrostate.

The Death of the Carbon Coalition

Existing models of U.S. politics are wrong. Here’s how the system really works.