by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
The First Civil War was a war of different economic systems. You had Slave Power in the South and Free Labor in the North. All the other ostensible causes of the First Civil War sprang from that conflict in views about labor. I think a lot about the possibility of a Second American Civil War. I have a friend who is smarter than me who says I’m full of shit on the matter — rich people don’t give a fuck about poor women not being able to have abortions.
As such, lulz, if there choice is between autocracy and civil war, we’re just going to become an autocracy.
And, yet, I just don’t believe that history is all about economics. And, if you really wanted to get nitty-gritty about it the United States is tearing itself apart on an economic basis as well.
Because the Right is ascendant and the United States is now an anocracy rather than a democracy, the Right is able to force Blue States to “bend a knee” for anything they want — be it social or fiduciary policy.
Also — Blue States economies are more modern and forward looking than Red State economies. Blue States generate more economic output and are, generally service and technology based. Meanwhile, Red States are more based on rural economic output.
The point is –I’m just not prepared to dismiss that we’re going to have a Second American Civil War. We may, indeed, just slip peacefully into autocracy, but it hasn’t happened yet.
