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The Big Lebowskization of California

California has adopted a "Big Lebowski" ethos: a laid-back, live-and-let-live attitude that prioritizes personal freedom and non-confrontation, even as the state faces serious crises like homelessness and climate change. This cultural shift contributes to governmental inertia that prevents effective action on pressing issues.

Background

- The article uses "The Big Lebowskization" as a metaphor for California becoming like the movie *The Big Lebowski* — a place where the protagonist (The Dude) is passive, aimless, and coasting on past glories while institutions decay around him. - The piece argues that California, long seen as a state of progress and innovation, has entered a "Golden Twilight": still rich and powerful, but dysfunctional — unable to fix homelessness, housing costs, fires, or infrastructure, and coasting on the tail end of its tech boom. - The author, Connor Sturges, is a writer and editor who frequently covers California politics and culture from a left-leaning perspective. The essay appears on Zócalo Public Square, a platform for ideas journalism supported by Arizona State University. - Key prior context: California's reputation as a "failed state" has been a recurring conservative talking point; this piece tries to diagnose the problem from within the liberal coalition, arguing that California's governance has become complacent, bureaucratic, and unable to deliver basic services despite enormous wealth.

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The Big Lebowskization of California

Background

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