"It's good to be shifty in a new country," was 19th-century advice given to immigrants. It was needed. Europeans had never even imagined a society so mobile, so dynamic as America.
The period between 1875 and 1900, often called the Gilded Age, saw the most rapid economic growth in American history. The U.S. transitioned from an agrarian society to the world's leading industrial power, driven by a "mobile and dynamic" spirit often noted by observers of the time.
This period was also the peak of westward expansion. The completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 shifted migration from slow wagon trains to rapid rail travel. By 1870, approximately 400,000 settlers had made the trek west along major trails like the Oregon Trail.
The Homestead Act (1862) fueled a massive wave of farming settlement by providing 160 acres of free land to anyone willing to improve it. Between 1862 and 1900, the government transferred over 270 million acres to private citizens.
Economic dynamism and unprecedented mobility led to the most revolutionary cultural changes in history. Those changes included the decline and eventual destruction of several industries in America. Blacksmiths, wheelwrights, and other small-business and artisanal workers associated with the "horse and buggy" pre-industrial economy were not just "workers"; they were critical members and pillars of their communities. Their shops were often the physical and social center of a village.
Even more importantly, the decline of these trades meant the collapse of the formal apprentice system, which for centuries had provided young people with a clear path to social mobility and financial freedom.
There was a social cost to these changes. Labor unrest, unemployment, and a sense of being unmoored from society all contributed to a pervasive fear and trepidation.
But those who were "shifty" and adaptable to the new realities thrived in this new America. One man's loss was another man's opportunity. Those who didn't recognize these opportunities floundered.
Such is capitalism.
Perhaps that's why the left is melting down over the Washington Post's decline and eventual shuttering. Leftists don't understand capitalism. They don't recognize opportunity. And they're "shifty" in all the wrong ways.
This week, the Washington Post laid off about a third of its staff. They lost $100 million over the last year, which, even for a very wealthy man like Jeff Bezos, is a lot of money.
The executive editor of the Post, Matt Murray, gave the 100% correct reason for why the Post was forced to take the actions it did: the layoffs were part of a restructuring effort and a shift away from a model that is “too rooted in a different era.”
In what universe would it be unacceptable to make those cuts after losing $100 million? A left-wing universe, of course.
The liberal former editor of the paper, Marty Baron, said in a statement that the layoffs rank “among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organizations.”
He criticized Mr. Bezos’ decision to kill the paper’s planned endorsement of Vice President Harris in the 2024 election, as well as the billionaire’s order that the editorial page publish columns dedicated to “personal liberties and free markets.”
Those decisions, according to Mr. Baron, made the paper’s financial struggles “infinitely worse” as they led to “hundreds of thousands” of readers being “driven away.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suggested that the move by the Post was a conspiracy of some sort.
When Jeff Bezos bought WaPo, he immediately took control of the opinions section. Now, he's laying off hundreds of journalists, including those covering Amazon.
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) February 4, 2026
This isn’t a coincidence. It’s the result of billionaires with vested political agendas taking over our media.
As opposed to leftists with a vested political agenda running the paper? Bezos is a businessman who read the tea leaves and saw moderating the Post's liberalism as a good, bottom-line move. He was probably wrong because he couldn't have imagined the outcry that resulted after his refusal to endorse Kamala Harris in 2024. The explosion of hysterical opposition from the left, no doubt, gave subscribers a false impression of what exactly Bezos was trying to do.
In effect, the liberals' over-the-top reaction to Bezos's moves in 2024 became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Democratic Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders said, “If Jeff Bezos could afford to spend $75 million on the Melania movie & $500 million for a yacht to sail off to his $55 million wedding to give his wife a $5 million ring, please don’t tell me he needed to fire one-third of the Washington Post staff. Democracy dies in oligarchy.”
“Jeff Bezos just fired hundreds of reporters at the Washington Post — including the Amazon reporter holding his OWN company accountable. Reminder: Jeff Bezos’ net worth is nearly $250,000,000,000,” wrote far-left Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren.
A weekend host at the left-wing network MS NOW, Jonathan Capehart, said that with the layoffs, the Post is “complicit” in “killing” democracy.
This is the hubris of the journalism business. The death of newspapers will not usher in an age of dictatorship. Only 7% of U.S. adults say they "often" get their news from printed newspapers or magazines. Nearly 70% of U.S. adults prefer reading their news online rather than in print. That's not close to any definition of "democratic" I'm aware of.
Since newspapers have yet to figure out a new online business model that can make money, they're stuck trying to make a go of it with a model that's been around for a thousand years.
It's not working. Newspapers will never be what they were 40 years ago. To "journalists" and other purveyors of what they consider to be "truth": Stop whining about the inevitability of change. Bari Weiss stopped whining about anything and is now a multi-millionaire.
It's good to be shifty in a new country.
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