Why Are White Liberals So Pessimistic About Politics?

Daniel A. Cox February 23, 2022

Thousands of protesters gathered at Mc Carren Park in Brooklyn on June 7, 2020 for a massive march around Williamsburg, making a loud call for the defunding of the police force. This comes after NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio promised 'intense change' with police reform proposals amid calls to defund law enforcement, including shifting resources from NYPD and publicizing officers' disciplinary records. (Photo by Erik McGregor/Sipa USA)No Use UK. No Use Germany.

FiveThirtyEight

No one seems happy about politics these days. A new survey conducted by the American Enterprise Institute’s Survey Center on American Life, which I lead, found that less than half the American public felt optimistic about the country’s future. But there is a fairly stark divide among Americans on this question, with white Americans expressing far more pessimism about our country’s direction than members of other racial groups.

White evangelicals were the most pessimistic group we surveyed, but I found in follow-up analysis for FiveThirtyEight that there was a notable racial divide among Democrats as well.1 More than 6 in 10 Black Democrats (68 percent), and 62 percent of Hispanic Democrats said they were somewhat or very optimistic about the country’s future but white Democrats were much more divided — roughly as many said they felt optimistic (53 percent) as pessimistic (47 percent) about where the United States is headed.

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