Circumstances change depending on place and time, but the archetype has existed everywhere and in every era.
For instance, if you want to find a poster boy for the modern establishment — someone who would have stepped over prostrate peasants on his way to the Palace of Versailles in 1789 — look no further than James Surowiecki, editor at The Yale Review.
In a string of social media posts that readers might find too elitist to believe, Surowiecki cited government data as gospel while repeatedly and audaciously denying that the grocery prices others reported paying had any basis in reality.
The spectacle unfolded Wednesday on the social media platform X.
It began when “Catturd,” a supporter of former President Donald Trump and a prominent account with more than 2.8 million followers, responded with skepticism to a New York Post article about a lower inflation rate of 2.9 percent in July.
“Nice fake number — but I live in the real world — my grocery and pet food bills have doubled under Biden and gas prices have more than doubled,” Catturd wrote.
Surowiecki, who has also written for establishment outlets The Atlantic and The New Yorker, denied Catturd’s experience. In fact, the Yale editor lectured the Trump supporter on the “real world.”
“If you think your grocery bills have doubled in the last four years, you do not live in the real world,” Surowiecki wrote.
If you think your grocery bills have doubled in the last four years, you do not live in the real world. pic.twitter.com/4EheGoRWxy
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) August 14, 2024
Have you personally felt a stark increase in your grocery bill?
As one might expect, Catturd received plenty of support from other users who shared similar experiences.
The insufferable aristocrat Surowiecki responded with three tactics characteristic of the modern establishment shill.
First, and by far most egregious, he had the audacity to tell people that the experiences they described never happened.
“I paid $90 for a 30# box of hamburger, now it $150. We used to allocate $800 a month for our family’s groceries, now we allocate $1500. It’s a little less than double, but not much,” one user wrote.
I paid $90 for a 30# box of hamburger, now it $150. We used to allocate $800 a month for our family’s groceries, now we allocate $1500. It’s a little less than double, but not much.
— Tim Kulogo (@tkulogo) August 14, 2024
Incredibly, Surowiecki simply called the user a liar.
“It’s simply untrue that you’re paying 90% more for the same items. It’s not happening,” the Yale editor replied.
It’s simply untrue that you’re paying 90% more for the same items. It’s not happening.
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) August 14, 2024
“My grocery prices have gone up by about 75%, and that’s factoring in product mix downgrades and changes I’ve made to conserve a bit more. I have no doubt a straight-up identical product mix would be 2x, easily,” another user wrote.
My grocery prices have gone up by about 75%, and that’s factoring in product mix downgrades and changes I’ve made to conserve a bit more. I have no doubt a straight-up identical product mix would be 2x, easily.
— Aphasialista (@Aphasialista) August 14, 2024
“Nope – just false,” Surowiecki responded.
Nope – just false.
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) August 14, 2024
“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears,” George Orwell wrote in the dystopian “1984.”
In related news, Surowiecki adopted a second tactic of insisting that users believe only government data.
“I work in retail management. They have absolutely doubled,” one user wrote of prices.
I work in retail management. They have absolutely doubled.
— kdog58630 (@kdog58630) August 14, 2024
“They absolutely have not — as a look at the govt’s price data will tell you,” the bootlicking Yale editor replied.
They absolutely have not – as a look at the govt’s price data will tell you.
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) August 14, 2024
Governments officials, of course, always tell the truth. They would never dare lie about, say, a COVID lab leak theory, or COVID tracking data, or democracy, or anything. They swear.
Finally, Surowiecki insisted that grocery prices have increased by only 20 percent, thereby implying that inflation should not bother anyone.
“Grocery prices are up roughly 20% since 2021, with almost all of that increase coming between 2021-2023. That’s far from ideal. but it’s miles away from ‘doubled,’” he wrote, again apparently privileging government data over people’s actual experiences.
Grocery prices are up roughly 20% since 2021, with almost all of that increase coming between 2021-2023. That’s far from ideal. but it’s miles away from “doubled.”
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) August 14, 2024
When an establishment shill responds to ordinary people’s stories of hardship with the phrase “far from ideal,” you know that he or she despises you but will not say so for fear of sounding callous and thereby exposing his or her veneer of faux compassion.
In short, the entire thread oozed the sort of condescension one instantly recognizes in aristocrats of all times and places.
