Somebody's Got to Build It

"The subtext throughout is class. Vance's rise captures the voice of forgotten workers, fractured families, and a culture frayed by globalization. When factories shuttered and communities crumbled, many fathers found themselves adrift, their roles reduced to relics. Mothers bore the brunt, juggling survival amid addiction and absence. After decades of such erosion, Vance emerges not just as a politician, but as a diagnostician of decline."

"DeVito's core thesis deserves attention: Vance's vision isn't mere opportunism, but a corrective to a party long captive to libertarian illusions. This matters for more than Ohio voters. It reshapes how we value dependence, dignity, and the common good. DeVito, an occasional contributor to The American Conservative, recounts Vance's chaotic upbringing, replete with addiction and instability, and the escape hatch provided by Marine Corps."

"The problem, as DeVito frames it, is that our entire system is built for the autonomous individual, the median entrepreneur. Eventually, even the strong are left behind. With families and communities cut out of the equation, the number of "standard" Americans gets dangerously small. What kind of politics bestows dignity? Is it measured by tax cuts alone, or by who thrives in the end?"

J.D. Vance rose from Rust Belt despair to vice-presidential power, embodying voices of forgotten workers, fractured families, and communities frayed by globalization. Factory closures and economic dislocation left many fathers adrift and mothers juggling survival amid addiction and absence. Marine Corps service provided a pivotal escape. The political trajectory reflects a rupture in conservative thought away from libertarian individualism and GDP-first priorities toward policies that restore dignity through ordered loves: family, faith, and fair work. Trade policies favoring elites and failing safety nets are identified as causes of cultural rot and deindustrialization, shrinking the population of "standard" Americans able to thrive.

Read at The American Conservative