Editors Letter: Politics and the art of disgust

last updated 8 January 2015

If the current state of our politics disgusts you, congratulations. You are experiencing an emotion that’s very much in fashion. Among scientists of human behavior, The New York Times reports this week, the study of disgust is “hot.” As “disgustologist” Valerie Curtis points out, disgust plays a powerful role in nearly everything, from romance to diet to politics: It “determines how close we get to people. It determines who we’re going to kiss, who we’re going to mate with, who we’re going to sit next to.” In 2012, it will probably even determine who we elect as president.

One of the many virtues of Super PACs (see Controversy of the week) is that they enable people who seek political power to buy disgust by the truckload, and dump it, reeking and steaming, in your living room. The Republican primaries, and the general election to come, will most likely be won by the candidate who can create the most disgust about his opponent, while minimizing how much disgust you feel for him. Mitt Romney’s opponents will tell you he’s a filthy-rich, tax-evading vulture capitalist who made his fortune firing factory workers. Newt Gingrich will be portrayed as a hypocritical, influence-peddling serial adulterer and an emotionally unstable megalomaniac. Barack Obama will be condemned as an incompetent, tax-and-spend socialist who’ll run up the deficit, put everyone on food stamps, and turn America into France. Cue the ominous music and sinister photos. If, during this informative process, you feel waves of aversion and nausea, just remind yourself that this is what the Founders intended. In a free society, the best response to $400 million worth of disgust is $500 million worth of disgust.