Overview
- Krugman called the White House lawn cage match and the UFC press conference at the Lincoln Memorial a desecration of national symbols and described the events as "unspeakably vulgar."
- He links the vulgar display to a wider collapse of social norms that once constrained elite behavior, citing Thorstein Veblen’s The Theory of the Leisure Class to explain how conspicuous displays substitute for public responsibility.
- Krugman warns the pattern resembles the late Roman Republic, saying extreme inequality and elite-sponsored spectacle have historical precedents that helped weaken republican rule.
- He argues the modern wealthy have largely abandoned noblesse oblige and philanthropy, a shift that deepens political polarization and reduces informal checks on power.
- Krugman frames his column as an intervention in public debate and plans further discussion with historians to press his view that reversing these trends is essential to preserving American institutions.