Suburban Socialists

Back in the late 80's when I was young and fancy free, I subscribed to a dozen magazines and papers running across the political spectrum. From the American Spectator to Mother Jones. I subscribed to the Utne Reader for several years, but one year I decided I had had enough. Indeed all of them exect the New Republic have been abandoned at one time or another. I had conducted a long thought experiment socialism and decided that whatever its virtues, it was a brake on progress, and tended to keep things in place on a large scale while producing substantial equity on a small scale. At some point after this I realized that the Utne Reader was the magazine of Suburban Socialists. People wealthy enough to turn their back on prosperity and indulge in expensive alternative lifestyles (like organic food). The magazine was frequently a haven for European style work habits (short work days, long vacations, leave for nearly anything) and an attraction to "simple living" that could only be supported on a substantial income (craft manufacture, organic food, expensive outdoor hobbies).

Micheal Barone has a new article up about this same group of people, but he is calling them the trustfunder left. That sounds about right, but I still prefer suburban socialists.