A large population of Americans picture the American dream as post World War II high growth America, with an unstoppable economy, GM + Ford as the American Made Automobile, the Suburbs as the best place to live, coal and hydroelectric power, and being a World Leader with a clearly defined mission and enemy.
So, in essence, things that are not part of that image are new and "liberal" and ruining America. Whether that's Apple, solar panels, or innovative companies like Tesla.
What would settle this is if Tesla were to "pull it off", then we could see if it's blind nostalgia for what you mention, or a preference for simple and obvious utility and productivity.
Detroit churning out cars that move and employ Americans is a simpler win to process than the perpetually-almost-here future Musk may or may not be selling.
I bought a Model 3 and it is incredible. It is the only new car I've brought because I've never been excited enough about a car to take the depreciation hit. Driving this case makes me feel like I'm living in the future where everything makes sense and it makes me happy. But that's just me.
A lot of other people look at this car and see a dystopian nightmare of oppressive degradation and downfall. It makes them feel anxious, resentful and emasculated. For some, it is even a threat to their livelihoods.
So, same object, two opposing views. A utopia for some, a dystopia for others. In the old days there were a broad societal agreement on what "progress" was. Not so anymore.
I hope society once again agrees on what progress means some day, but I don't know if it will happen, nor how.
You don’t need ‘nostalgia’ or whatever other descriptor will make people seem backward when you have the basic facts.
While, Ford substantially differentiated himself by realizing the pros of benefits for workers, the company existed in some dark times (WWI, Depression) where there would have been certain FUD. Moreso, Ford espouses its realization that it is at least part responsible for the suburbanization and ruin of Detroit.
Yet, few people today hate Ford.
Hint: that's most of us.
But I doubt many Americans would support global freedom of movement...
Why should someone care how apple is doing if they're struggling to make ends meet / have limited upward mobility.
He outlined it very clearly as an inevitable shift from indefinite optimism to indefinite pessimism in his book "zero to one"
If you are studying the art of making a prophecy, leave it open ended and unspecific. It won't be falsifiable, and people will fill in the blanks with their preferred details.
And it doesn't help us with why some people are irrationally rooting against their own self-interest (Apple's contribution to the GDP, high representation in overall national savings), or why we are starting a trade war against the opinion of almost all experts (or what the motivations of the person starting this trade war are).
edit: and I should note, le plus ca change... "noblesse oblige" is an old phrase.
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/314750-trump-coins-2020...
+1 for making me laugh. On the other hand, I'm incredibly impressed by how he's handled the new peace with North Korea. I hope the work that's been happening there continues.
It's easier to see undelivered promises right now in America than it is to see promised changed and progress.
How long are we going to watch the economic elite be mystified as inequality skyrockets and the American people become more and more disenfranchised from the "success" of "American" firms like Facebook, Google, and Apple.
And yeah, a billionaire like Elon Musk who inherited his money from an apartheid state trying to "disrupt" the auto industry is not going to be taken to kindly, especially by anyone who's paying attention.
The ends do not justify the means.
Production and value of the American machine has skyrocketed, but nobody I know has seen a proportional increase in income or value. Trickle-down has so MASSIVELY failed. We can't afford to root for the game, because we can't afford to PLAY the game.
When someone who basically swims in money says "But this will hurt the economy", what they really mean is "This will hurt a small section of some budget for me somewhere that you don't even benefit from, and even then, I'll just pass on the costs to you the consumer anyway"
It just feels unfair to the person who actually works for their money, instead of playing gambling games with investments.
Huh?
https://www.businessinsider.co.za/elon-musk-sells-the-family...
> “We were very wealthy,” says Errol. “We had so much money at times we couldn't even close our safe.”
I'll let you guess as to who dug up those emeralds. Hint: it wasn't the Musks.
Next step in your journey of learning is to look up when the Musks left South Africa. I bet you can figure it out without even looking it up.
1989 apparently, 5 years before the end of apartheid.
I don't think Elon Musk is a monster compared to his father, it's not even close really. But he is building his fortune on the back of inherited money earned doing some really scummy and shady shit.
I guess some people still take it literally?
It was a very popular idea amongst the far-left during the campaign and immediately after. Glenn Greenwald managed to write a 3000+ word treatise on the causes of the Brexit vote without once mentioning "immigration". I thought was quite the work of idealogical contortion and purity, but I don't think it's aged well at all. Plenty of people still seem to subscribe to these ideas though.
https://theintercept.com/2016/06/25/brexit-is-only-the-lates...
New American car company trying to change the world (Tesla)? Nope, hope it fails.
Large American company that contributes massively to the enonomy doing well (Apple) Nope, they suck.
Someone wants to talk about Healthcare, or Education, or gun reform ? Nope, they suck.
Basically, in modern America, everything and everyone sucks. It's not a positive place to be.