--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There’s a reason you probably haven’t…" description: "\"“There’s a reason you probably haven’t heard much about this aspect of the heartland. This kind of blight can’t be easily blamed on the usual suspects ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/thomas-frank-4078_first-place_there-s-a-reason-you-probably-haven-t-he_2355132.png" --- # There’s a reason you probably haven’t heard much about… ![“There’s a reason you probably haven’t heard much about this aspect of the heartland. This kind of blight can’t be easily blamed on the usual suspects like government or counterculture or high-hat urban policy. The villain that did this to my home state wasn’t the Supreme Court or Lyndon Johnson…” quote by Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/thomas-frank-4078_first-place_there-s-a-reason-you-probably-haven-t-he_2355132.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/thomas-frank-4078_first-place_there-s-a-reason-you-probably-haven-t-he_2355132.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/thomas-frank-4078_first-place_there-s-a-reason-you-probably-haven-t-he_2355132.png) > ““There’s a reason you probably haven’t heard much about this aspect of the heartland. This kind of blight can’t be easily blamed on the usual suspects like government or counterculture or high-hat urban policy. The villain that did this to my home state wasn’t the Supreme Court or Lyndon Johnson, showering dollars on the poor or putting criminals back on the street. The culprit is the conservatives’ beloved free-market capitalism, a system that, at its most unrestrained, has little use for smalltown merchants or the agricultural system that supported the small towns in the first place…”” [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues that unchecked free‑market capitalism harms small towns and agriculture, more than any political figure. **In simple terms:** Free market excess damages local economies. Key Takeaway Support policies that protect small businesses and farms. Themes economics politics rural decay capitalism Mood critical concerned Type analytical political When to use this quote - rural development - agricultural policy - local entrepreneurship - community planning Key Concepts market failure inequality policy critique Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives can sustain small towns? - How can citizens influence economic policy? A Different Perspective Capitalist reforms may be politically unpopular and hard to implement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aspect Heartland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspect-heartland-5747510/) [Capitalism Unrestrained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism-unrestrained-5747509/) [Culprit Conservatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culprit-conservatives-5747508/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Heartland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartland/) [Kindlehighlight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindlehighlight/) [Lyndon johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lyndon-johnson/) [Market Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/market-capitalism-541221/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Small towns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-towns/) [Usual Suspects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/usual-suspects/) ## Related quotes > [“Maybe it's the best answer of all. If more people could admit they really don't know, maybe there never would have been a Heartland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/maybe-it-s-the-best-answer-of-all-if-more-people-could-admit-they/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [So what strikes me most about the Heartland Conference is that I am with people that are in love with weather, climate, and their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bastardi/so-what-strikes-me-most-about-the-heartland-conference-is-that-i-am/) [Joe Bastardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bastardi/) > [I suppose that Heartland, Unknown Soldier and Pride and Joy represent not a quieter side but more of a serious side to my work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-ennis/i-suppose-that-heartland-unknown-soldier-and-pride-and-joy-represent/) [Garth Ennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-ennis/) > [“The periphery of a place can tell us a great deal about its heartland. Along the edge of a nation's territory, its real prejudices,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-lundy/the-periphery-of-a-place-can-tell-us-a-great-deal-about-its-heartland/) [Derek Lundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-lundy/) > [“It’s too late now. The game’s been won by companies who don’t two shits about community character or decent jobs. Congratufuckinglations, America! We did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finn-murphy/it-s-too-late-now-the-game-s-been-won-by-companies-who-don-t-two/) [Finn Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finn-murphy/) > [“It seemed to me that the earth was generous and outgoing here in the heartland, and perhaps the people took a cue from it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/it-seemed-to-me-that-the-earth-was-generous-and-outgoing-here-in-the/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Our success as a party will largely be determined by how well we do here in the heartland... The time has come to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-bayh/our-success-as-a-party-will-largely-be-determined-by-how-well-we-do/) [Evan Bayh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-bayh/) > [I want to make more films in the heartland, the forgotten America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-zhao/i-want-to-make-more-films-in-the-heartland-the-forgotten-america/) [Chloe Zhao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-zhao/) > [“Mort Sahl, while attending a preview of Otto Preminger's film Exodus, stood up and called out, "Otto, let my people go!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/mort-sahl-while-attending-a-preview-of-otto-preminger-s-film-exodus/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [I would love to do a film of the heartland.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angad-bedi/i-would-love-to-do-a-film-of-the-heartland/) [Angad Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angad-bedi/) > [The Heartland Institute, which people mostly only know in terms of the fact that it hosts these annual conferences of climate change skeptics or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/the-heartland-institute-which-people-mostly-only-know-in-terms-of-the/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [There really is a sense of internationalism in the heartland.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-klobuchar/there-really-is-a-sense-of-internationalism-in-the-heartland/) [Amy Klobuchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-klobuchar/) > [There needs to be leadership in the heartland of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-hanson/there-needs-to-be-leadership-in-the-heartland-of-america/) [Isaac Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-hanson/) > [“The Midlanders—a great many of them German speaking—carried their pluralistic culture into the Heartland, a place long since identified with neighborliness, family-centered progress, practical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-woodard/the-midlanders-a-great-many-of-them-german-speaking-carried-their/) [Colin Woodard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-woodard/) > [“Ty swung around. He was obviously fed up with Ben's negative attitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-brooke/ty-swung-around-he-was-obviously-fed-up-with-ben-s-negative-attitude/) [Lauren Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-brooke/) ## More by Thomas Frank > [I was in a bad mood when I wrote that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/i-was-in-a-bad-mood-when-i-wrote-that/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [“above all, intellectual. 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Bush, you will recall, federal spending grew pretty significantly. At the same time, the number of people directly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/under-the-administration-of-george-w-bush-you-will-recall-federal/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Massive inequality, we have learned, isn't the best way to run an economy after all. 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