|
|
|
| Current Issue |
|
|
| Resources |
|
|
|
Introduction: Politics After Reagan
| Article
# : |
13602 |
|
|
Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
|
| Issue
Date : |
4 / 1988 |
742 Words |
| Author
: |
Editor
|
This month the Modern Thought section features several essays dealing with two questions: What have been the effects of the Reagan presidency on American society? and, What will be the likely course of American politics after 1988? Although the contributors believe President Reagan has left a mark on American politics, they nonetheless deny that the changes he has wrought amount to a kind of revolution. Some of the essays view the Reagan administration in the context of the postwar presidency; others suggest lines of continuity between the Carter and Reagan years.
None of the essays betrays any affection for the Reagan presidency, yet all are written by self-described conservatives. Indeed even the essay on the Democratic Party shows more unhappiness with the tendency of Democrats to support left-wing extremists than it does any particular fondness for the other side. The dissatisfaction with the Reagan administration goes beyond the issue that he has failed to use a window of opportunity for change--though Herbert London details these failures rather dispassionately. Common to the essays this month is the view that President Reagan has not significantly changed our political culture. Although Zoll, Lukacs, and Rosen dwell longest on this observation, one finds it in Hawkins and Kauffman as well. Though seen as the "Great Communicator," President Reagan has not created a philosophically sound rallying point for those opposed to the cultural and political Left. He has failed to be consistent about his own first principles, associating himself with rugged individualism, global-democratic revolutions, and Judeo-Christian values, depending on which label he found most useful on a given occasion. He has both attacked and defended the welfare state--and brought with him into power "movement conservatives" who have become increasingly indistinguishable from other Beltway bureaucrats.
All these developments may be in the nature of modern American politics. They may also indicate the clumsy compromises with reality that enthusiasts are forced to make once elevated to high places. One may also argue that President Reagan has made more of a difference than most of our contributors are willing to concede. He has forced his opposition on the Left to stress thrift and budget-cutting--even if only for underscoring more effectively the current administration's problem of deficit spending. Aaron Wildavsky may be right when he states that Reagan has defunded any further expansion of liberal social programs. By making the opposition oppose greater deficits and by turning his back successfully on tax hikes, Reagan has made it harder for Democrats to enlarge our present welfare
...
Read Full Article
Look for this article in Ask.com
|
|
