Right-leaning shock aesthetics proved more marketable than abrasive left counterculture

Evidence

In the past, abrasive countercultural aesthetics served as barriers to mainstream absorption. But this new right-leaning counter-counterculture that McInnes cultivated—rock machismo, raunchy photography, admiration for “white trash,” and political incorrectness—proved easily marketable to provincial audiences. A spiritual sibling to Vice was the popular MTV reality show Jackass, with its bro-ey actors performing dangerous stunts. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 77

Categorization

• QUESTION: Why did right-coded transgression absorb into mainstream easier than left-coded? The market logic here is worth unpacking.