No cultural phenomenon — and yes, it’s a phenomenon — has dominated the discourse these past few weeks more than the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. And in addition to seeming like a dark Hollywood thriller come to life — down to alleged killer Luigi Mangione’s brooding good looks and a literal backpack full of Monopoly money — the story has been raising a lot of important and sometimes uncomfortable questions about the evolving politics of the United States in the 2020s.
What does it tell us about the decline of the American project — and Americans’ faith in everything from the healthcare industry to our legal system — that people on both sides of the aisle have responded not only with compassion for Luigi, but in some cases celebration and thirst? What are Luigi’s actual politics, and why do so many people think he’s a left-wing vigilante when his interests seem far closer to certain center-right, grey tribe, effective altruism-adjacent ideologies that are popul…
