Sam Smith - I
have argued from time to time that one reason why liberals don't do
better these days is that they tend to speak more in academic terms. One
classic example: the replacement of the term "public works" with
"infrastructure." The above chart shows how the two compare in books
over times as measured by Google.
Interestingly,
the term "public works" grew in the late 1930s when the New Deal was
engaging in it in record proportions. Now "infrastructure" has soared
and we can't even keep our old bridges safe.
