Caleb Brown, director of multimedia at the Cato Institute, joined the Federalist Radio Hour to discuss wealth and mobility in America, pop culture and “King of the Hill” it relates to politics, and using culture to bridge the gap between people and economics.
Lessons about liberty and contrarian principles are less frequently found in pop culture, but there are few exceptional examples by actor and director Mike Judge. “I think Hank Hill is a classic American character,” Brown said. “King of the Hill in particular presents an idea of an American, middle-aged, conservative man who has a lot of his own prejudices to deal with but he’s not a bad guy.”
The great irony of populism is that a large dissatisfaction with the government often leads to giving the government more power. “‘Get the government out of it’ is rarely every presented as a serious option and if it is, it’s not usually adopted,” Brown said.
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