Democrats are Losing the War for Attention. Badly.

The Ezra Klein Show

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Published: Fri Jan 17 2025

Trump is a master at wielding attention. He’s been owning news cycles and squatting in Americans’ minds for much of the last decade. And for his second term he has an ally in Elon Musk, a man with a similar uncanny skill set. Trump and Musk seem to have figured out something about how attention works in our fragmented media age — and how to use it for political and cultural power — that Democrats simply haven’t. So what is it? What do they understand about attention that their opponents don’t? Chris Hayes is the host of MSNBC’s “All In,” and has written a forthcoming book, “The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource.” And he’s a brilliant thinker on how our modern attention economy works and what it’s doing to our politics. We discuss what Hayes sees as a revolution happening to our attention, which he compares to the Industrial Revolution in its scale and impact; why the old rules about attention in politics no longer apply; the key insight Trum...

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Ezra Klein Show – "Attention Is Power"

Episode Release Date: January 17, 2025
Host: Ezra Klein (New York Times Opinion)
Guest: Chris Hayes (Host of MSNBC's "All In" and Author of The Sirens: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource)

1. Introduction

In the episode titled "Attention Is Power," Ezra Klein engages in a profound discussion with Chris Hayes about the evolving dynamics of attention in the modern world. Hayes, renowned for his insightful analysis on media and politics, delves into his book, The Sirens: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource, to explore how attention has transformed into a critical commodity, surpassing even financial wealth in its influence on politics and society.

2. The Commodification of Attention

Key Insights:

Attention as a Valuable Resource: Klein posits that figures like Donald Trump and Elon Musk epitomize the mastery of wielding attention. Hayes agrees, suggesting that Musk may now be more "attentionally rich" than financially so.
Parallels with Labor Commodification: Hayes draws a compelling analogy between the current state of attention and the Industrial Revolution's transformation of labor. He explains, "attention is now this market commodity that's extracted and sold," mirroring how human labor became commodified in the past ([06:07]).

Notable Quote:

"Donald Trump and Elon Musk are probably the most attentionally rich people in the world. If you're going to think about politics, you have to look at how attention is being spent and controlled." – Ezra Klein [00:54]

3. Evolution of Media and Attention Competition

Key Insights:

Increased Competition: Hayes highlights the dramatic surge in content availability from the early 2000s to today. He states, "every moment you are trying to get someone's attention now, the totality of human content is the library of your competition" ([03:12]).
Impact of Technology: The advent of smartphones has exponentially increased the ubiquity and immediacy of content, making attention capture more sophisticated and pervasive ([07:45]).

Notable Quote:

"Once there was too little content, now there's too much. It's an endless gain of function for attention." – Ezra Klein [10:16]

4. Political Implications

Key Insights:

Republicans' Attention Strategy: Hayes argues that the Republican Party, under Trump's influence, has shifted focus from monetary influence to controlling and maximizing attention. This strategy emphasizes volume and often negative attention to dominate the political discourse ([14:17]).
Democrats' Money-Centric Approach: In contrast, Democrats continue to prioritize financial resources, which Hayes contends is less effective in the current attentional landscape ([15:04]).
Selection of Politicians: The competitive attention market favors politicians with personality traits akin to "attentional sociopaths," individuals who thrive on both positive and negative attention without personal detriment ([23:11]).

Notable Quotes:

"Attention is now to politics what people think money is to politics." – Ezra Klein [14:17]

"The most competitive attentional regimes select for the most reactionary parts of people." – Chris Hayes [23:56]

5. Media's Role and Strategies

Key Insights:

Democrats' Media Problem: Klein points out that Democrats often label their struggles as "media problems," reflecting a misunderstanding of the deeper "attention problem" they face. Hayes concurs, noting that Democrats are too focused on legacy media rather than adapting to the new attention economy ([36:45]).
Farrell's Pornography Analogy: Hayes references political scientist Henry Farrell's analogy comparing social media’s impact to that of Internet porn. Just as Internet porn caters to more extreme tastes, social media amplifies extreme political views, distorting public perception and policy discourse ([52:54]).

Notable Quote:

"Democrats think of their issue as a media problem, not an attention problem. Media is something you get booked on, attention is something you attract." – Ezra Klein [37:19]

6. Cultural and Societal Impact

Key Insights:

Negative Attention Over Positive Narratives: Hayes laments the scarcity of positive or utopian narratives in the current attention economy. Instead, negativity and conflict dominate, leading to a culture fixated on what is sensational and morally dubious ([55:04]).
Curiosity as the Antidote to Doom: Both hosts explore the necessity of fostering curiosity and interest as counterbalances to the prevailing doom-centric attention grabbers. Hayes suggests that cultivating curiosity can redirect collective attention towards more constructive and meaningful engagements ([68:34]).

Notable Quote:

"The opposite of doom is not hope or utopia; it's curiosity and interest." – Ezra Klein [68:34]

7. Conclusion and Recommendations

In wrapping up their discussion, Hayes offers three book recommendations that resonate with the episode's themes:

"Amusing Ourselves to Death" by Neil Postman: A classic examination of how entertainment influences public discourse.
"How to Do Nothing" by Jenny Odell: A distinctly different approach to reclaiming attention from commercial pressures.
"Rejection" by Tony Tula Tamoudi: A bleak yet compelling work of fiction that underscores the dark potentials of an attention-driven society.

Final Notable Quote:

"Everyone has different parts they want to cultivate or not, depending on the systems around us drawing forth those parts or not." – Chris Hayes [72:10]

Key Takeaways:

Attention as a Commodity: Attention has emerged as a more critical resource than ever, shaping politics, media, and societal norms.
Political Shift: The Republican Party's embrace of attention-centric strategies under Trump contrasts with the Democrats' traditional focus on financial influence, leading to differing impacts on political landscapes.
Media Evolution: The shift from content scarcity to abundance has intensified competition for attention, necessitating new approaches in media strategies.
Cultural Consequences: The dominance of negative attention fosters a culture fixated on conflict and sensationalism, undermining constructive discourse and positive narratives.
Future Directions: To counteract the negative trends, fostering curiosity and interest may serve as effective antidotes to the doom-centric attention economy.

This episode provides a comprehensive exploration of how attention functions as a pivotal force in contemporary society, influencing everything from political strategies to cultural norms. Through insightful dialogue, Ezra Klein and Chris Hayes unpack the complexities of attention commodification and its far-reaching implications.

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Ezra Klein Show – "Attention Is Power"

1. Introduction

2. The Commodification of Attention

Key Insights:

Attention as a Valuable Resource: Klein posits that figures like Donald Trump and Elon Musk epitomize the mastery of wielding attention. Hayes agrees, suggesting that Musk may now be more "attentionally rich" than financially so.
Parallels with Labor Commodification: Hayes draws a compelling analogy between the current state of attention and the Industrial Revolution's transformation of labor. He explains, "attention is now this market commodity that's extracted and sold," mirroring how human labor became commodified in the past ([06:07]).

Notable Quote:

"Donald Trump and Elon Musk are probably the most attentionally rich people in the world. If you're going to think about politics, you have to look at how attention is being spent and controlled." – Ezra Klein [00:54]

3. Evolution of Media and Attention Competition

Key Insights:

Increased Competition: Hayes highlights the dramatic surge in content availability from the early 2000s to today. He states, "every moment you are trying to get someone's attention now, the totality of human content is the library of your competition" ([03:12]).
Impact of Technology: The advent of smartphones has exponentially increased the ubiquity and immediacy of content, making attention capture more sophisticated and pervasive ([07:45]).

Notable Quote:

"Once there was too little content, now there's too much. It's an endless gain of function for attention." – Ezra Klein [10:16]

4. Political Implications

Key Insights:

Republicans' Attention Strategy: Hayes argues that the Republican Party, under Trump's influence, has shifted focus from monetary influence to controlling and maximizing attention. This strategy emphasizes volume and often negative attention to dominate the political discourse ([14:17]).
Democrats' Money-Centric Approach: In contrast, Democrats continue to prioritize financial resources, which Hayes contends is less effective in the current attentional landscape ([15:04]).
Selection of Politicians: The competitive attention market favors politicians with personality traits akin to "attentional sociopaths," individuals who thrive on both positive and negative attention without personal detriment ([23:11]).

Notable Quotes:

"Attention is now to politics what people think money is to politics." – Ezra Klein [14:17]

"The most competitive attentional regimes select for the most reactionary parts of people." – Chris Hayes [23:56]

5. Media's Role and Strategies

Key Insights:

Democrats' Media Problem: Klein points out that Democrats often label their struggles as "media problems," reflecting a misunderstanding of the deeper "attention problem" they face. Hayes concurs, noting that Democrats are too focused on legacy media rather than adapting to the new attention economy ([36:45]).
Farrell's Pornography Analogy: Hayes references political scientist Henry Farrell's analogy comparing social media’s impact to that of Internet porn. Just as Internet porn caters to more extreme tastes, social media amplifies extreme political views, distorting public perception and policy discourse ([52:54]).

Notable Quote:

"Democrats think of their issue as a media problem, not an attention problem. Media is something you get booked on, attention is something you attract." – Ezra Klein [37:19]

6. Cultural and Societal Impact

Key Insights:

Negative Attention Over Positive Narratives: Hayes laments the scarcity of positive or utopian narratives in the current attention economy. Instead, negativity and conflict dominate, leading to a culture fixated on what is sensational and morally dubious ([55:04]).
Curiosity as the Antidote to Doom: Both hosts explore the necessity of fostering curiosity and interest as counterbalances to the prevailing doom-centric attention grabbers. Hayes suggests that cultivating curiosity can redirect collective attention towards more constructive and meaningful engagements ([68:34]).

Notable Quote:

"The opposite of doom is not hope or utopia; it's curiosity and interest." – Ezra Klein [68:34]

7. Conclusion and Recommendations

In wrapping up their discussion, Hayes offers three book recommendations that resonate with the episode's themes:

"Amusing Ourselves to Death" by Neil Postman: A classic examination of how entertainment influences public discourse.
"How to Do Nothing" by Jenny Odell: A distinctly different approach to reclaiming attention from commercial pressures.
"Rejection" by Tony Tula Tamoudi: A bleak yet compelling work of fiction that underscores the dark potentials of an attention-driven society.

Final Notable Quote:

"Everyone has different parts they want to cultivate or not, depending on the systems around us drawing forth those parts or not." – Chris Hayes [72:10]

Key Takeaways:

Attention as a Commodity: Attention has emerged as a more critical resource than ever, shaping politics, media, and societal norms.
Political Shift: The Republican Party's embrace of attention-centric strategies under Trump contrasts with the Democrats' traditional focus on financial influence, leading to differing impacts on political landscapes.
Media Evolution: The shift from content scarcity to abundance has intensified competition for attention, necessitating new approaches in media strategies.
Cultural Consequences: The dominance of negative attention fosters a culture fixated on conflict and sensationalism, undermining constructive discourse and positive narratives.
Future Directions: To counteract the negative trends, fostering curiosity and interest may serve as effective antidotes to the doom-centric attention economy.