Friday, December 23, 2005

Thomas Frank Replies!

Readers of this blog may remember a few months ago when ambivalent_maybe brought to our attention an academic paper by a Princeton political scientist that supposedly refuted Thomas Frank's recent book, What's the Matter with Kansas? At the time, I commented that the paper seemed both analytically suspect (especially in its contorted definition of the "white working class") and completely missed Frank's overall point. I was happy to discover that Thomas Frank himself has produced a witty and devastating rejoinder along the same lines, but much more comprehensive and enjoyable to read. Check it out!

Thanks to the DonkeyRising blog for directing me to Frank's response...you can look at DonkeyRising to find more links relating to this debate. Personally, despite my occasional affection for number crunching, I prefer Frank's more holistic analysis that resonates with the real world out there.

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