David Stockman “How the World Works”

The beginnings of the almost palpable meanness of spirit that pervades the Reagan administration’s domestic policies go back to the early Nixon years. The new element is the institutionalization of meanness; that is, meanness of spirit is now expected and approved, while generosity is defined as worthy only of derision.

Institutionalized meanness overlaps traditional capitalist orientations, but it also represents something of a departure. Take the air controllers’ strike. ...