- The shift in public perception toward the New Deal in the 70s and 80s is a fascinating phenomenon, one in which the liberalism and faith in government intervention for the sake of the working class was slowly replaced by an antimony for said working class – the adage ‘greed is good’ became an unironic anthem for the capitalism of the 80s, and signaled a dramatic change in American sentiment. The swinging of this economic pendulum is interesting, as it stemmed from a new kind of conservatism that arrived in the wake of the Vietnam war and the prospect of racial integration. In essence, the Southern Strategy, the Reagan-era push toward deregulation of business, and more contributed to an overall change in American perspective toward conservatism from liberalism – the New Deal was killed because America felt it didn’t need it anymore.
In the 1930s, there were several things that brought about government intervention, or at least a culture that facilitated it. The first and most important factor would be the Great Depression – mismanaged and poorly run industries all went under at the same time, leading to rampant joblessness and an unforgiving lack of resources. The free market leaders were cutting corners left and right; no one had a concrete set of prices, and there were no standards for quality or conduct of their products or workers. Labor standards were in dire need of regulation, as conditions In the wake of this, it was clear that the government needed to step in, set precedents for wages and prices, and create jobs. The New Deal helped to facilitate this; it was a large initiative that created an array of new oversight agencies that would make sure all different types of businesses would hold up to code. By creating a standard for these industries that were required, it was made possible for quality products to be made, and more staff was hired to facilitate this oversight. World War II also created many foreign-exchange issues between countries, as their legal tender values constantly shifted, and there was no regular means for exchange rates. The Bretton Woods Conference remedied this, as the IMF was created to facilitate minimum and maximum limits for these rates. This was yet another Keynesian economic step that placed control of the economy within the hands of the government. All of these factors led to an America that was thankful for Roosevelt’s New Deal, and was therefore more willing to accept government intervention.
However, a number of factors would lead to a waning of this liberalism in favor of conservatism in the late 60s through the 1980s and beyond. One of the biggest factors in this push was the Civil Rights Movement; by pushing for desegregation, many Southern conservatives and Northern Democrats alike were concerned about the consequences for their jobs, as well as society in general. The Southern Strategy was conceived as a viable political strategy, performed by the Republican Party, as a means to gather support for their cause by appealing to anti-black sentiment in the South. While the South was fiercely Democratic due to their defense of slavery prior to the Civil War, Richard Nixon saw a chance to take advantage of the fact that Lyndon Johnson was about to support Civil Rights legislation in the 60s. Nixon chose that time to begin his new strategy, which involved “winning working men to what he liked to call the ‘New Majority’”. Combining the fear of integration with the radicalism of the Black Power movement and the chaos of the Vietnam war protests, the Republicans found it easy to get many Southern states and politicians on their side due to concerns about the free love culture and increased rights of African-Americans. By framing this argument as a way to fight against the academics and intellectuals of the North, including Roosevelt, Nixon sought to bring public sentiment against not only the Democrats and the North, but liberalism and a regulatory government altogether.
Another factor that led to the lack of popularity of the Nixon-led government was the Vietnam war – by the late 1960s, the war had become hugely unpopular among many in the mainstream, making public approval for the government diminish greatly. Nixon and crew took advantage of this public unpopularity, however, starting with a narrative about the ‘Silent Majority’ of blue-collar, working-class Americans who need to be protected from the paternalistic government set up by FDR’s New Deal as a precedent. Their strategies were to “dispel the notion that [Nixon’s] party and his presidency were anti-worker, cleverly manipulate the race issue, and peg the label of ‘elitism’ on the liberals,” in order to keep himself unpredictable and his enemies off guard in order to get the Southern Strategy to work.
In many ways, the unpopularity of Democratic President Jimmy Carter paved the way for Republicanism to thrive in the 80s via Reagan. Carter revealed himself to be the kind of intellectual, anti-labor president that Nixon told people to fear via the Southern Strategy; “a few months into the Carter administration it was clear that working-class issues were not on the president’s short list”. On top of that, America had slowly turned from a labor-based economy to a service-based one, leading to many problems with America’s workforce which the working class did not feel Carter was addressing. At the same time, America was turning against unions and regulation of labor, as Republican strategies continually painted them as overreaching and greedy: “the 1970s ended up as the first decade in which, according to many elite opinion makers, working people simply made too much money, were too protected from the discipline of the market, and were so demanding as to destabilize the entire economy”. Corporations were shown to have started outsourcing their labor and workforce overseas, so as to not have to deal with the high pay and benefits demands given by labor unions; this hostility toward unions soon extended to animosity towards New Deal-era government protections for laborers altogether. The union workers were now seen as spoiled, and a change in political atmosphere was predicted.
In the 1980s, economic neo-liberalism was rampant – America, as well as other countries, were prosperous, and the US auto industry was taking off. Therefore, many industries saw less of a need to be overseen by the government. The ongoing fight with the USSR made it additionally very popular to eschew socialism and government oversight in favor of protecting private industry. Americans wanted to philosophically distance themselves as much as they could from their Cold War adversaries, and free market economists wanted to be allowed to make as much money as they could. On top of all this, Carter’s lack of popularity and Reagan’s aggressive campaigning as a working-class hero worked to elect him president, ushering in a new era of Republican conservatism in economic politics. The emergence of electronics as a substantial industry in the 1980s also led to a large boom in spending and earning, and the policies of Ronald Reagan led to a more hands-off, deregulated economy. His primary policies involved cutting down on government spending and leaving a lot of the policy shift in the hands of private businesses. Even his inaugural ceremony included an ironic use of Springsteen’s “Born in the USA,” as Reagan wanted to present himself as a working-class figure who was concerned about the middle-class.
NAFTA was also a big factor in the free market theories of the 90s; this allowed a larger free market system to be created by creating specific trade pacts with developing countries. What’s more, the presence of the German ordoliberals had left an indelible impression on free market economists, providing evidence that free markets would eliminate corruption through competition. In order to succeed, companies would have to work harder to excel, and therefore they would get ahead. As a result, they would not need government regulation. This decidedly libertarian idea was pushed hard by Reagan and others upon his election to president, bringing in an era of unprecedented capitalism and economic deregulation.
2) W.E.B. DuBois’ assertion that the “problem of the color line” would be the American problem of the twentieth century is not far off the mark; given the other advancements in technology, warfare, economy and prosperity, the remaining issue of race relations is a naturally important one. The increasing diversity of America has become a very pertinent and relevant issue in the past hundred years - many wonder if the privilege that whites have enjoyed since the ratification of the Constitution will diminish or go away. As of right now, white culture is still the norm, the default by which American society defines itself, both to others and to itself. However, with the increasing calls for equality by many ethnic minorities, and the increasing population of minorities in many areas of the country - more than half of the population of California is now Latino or Hispanic - one wonders if America will still be seen as a white-centric country.
The white domination of American culture is evident even today; popular culture still places a disproportionate number of whites in films and television, where minority characters are seen as 'token' and only placed in these pieces of media in order to expand their audience to minority groups. Most business leaders, politicians and entertainment executives remain white, leading to a culture in which most important decisions that determine culture are given final approval by whites. This makes them the primary culture makers of America today. However, this attitude has been slowly but steadily changing over the past few decades, and it seeks to continue changing. In popular music, for example, many top artists and producers are ethnic minorities, demonstrating a powerful influence over that aspect of media culture. The increasing influence of minorities, and the importance they have in big policy and business decisions, are being felt to an increasing degree as years pass.
What does this mean, then, for white culture? Will there come a time in which African-American culture will be the norm, and 'white' movies will become a niche market? White culture will completely go away, nor would it be suppressed by a greater influence of diverse cultural figures. For one thing, white culture has been too firmly entrenched in American history to make it removable if people even wanted to do that. However, what is slowly happening is the push for an equilibrium of cultures, where no one culture is considered the 'default,' or representative of the country as a whole, and instead focusing on a number of subcultures that cater to (and occasionally cross over with) specific groups of people.
Since the Civil Rights Movement ended in the late 60s, the push for tolerance in both popular and political culture has been slow but deliberate. Due to the increasing influence of African-Americans in popular culture and American society, they are able to have somewhat of an easier time than their forebears. However, despite these incredible societal advances, there are some issues that still must be worked out. While prominent African American politicians and celebrities, as well as minority figures from other races, have more influence than they ever had before, there is still a systematic and institutionalized process by which African-Americans are still disenfranchised. Even in the labor and busing disputes of the 20th century, and the aforementioned push toward conservatism, these changes were often predicated on a mistrust of blacks and the perceived threat to white prosperity and solidarity that they represented.
Various governmental systems are still disproportionately insensitive to minorities, and this remains a huge problem. There are "three flash points of tension in the justice system - the use of race as a criterion in the surveillance, questioning, searching, and arresting of suspects; jury selection; and differential punishment of minorities". Social and economic factors still leave blacks and Latinos at significant economic disadvantages, and the discrimination that many still encounter on a daily basis contributes to factors that lead to these higher statistics for sentencing and imprisonment.
The presence of prominent African-American celebrities and politicians almost seems to belie the fact that problems still exist that must be overcome; often, the election of President Barack Obama is held up as a sign that racism is no longer a problem. The cultural power of many black and Latino musicians and producers leads to the impression that they have 'taken over' popular culture, and are in charge of these decisions. Despite these appearances, there is still a long way to go before racial tolerance can truly be claimed by the majority of American institutions. Despite this remaining intolerance, it can be stated that large leaps have been taken in the fight for equal treatment by racial minorities. The election of President Obama, and the success of many prominent black artists, politicians and musicians, are things that could not have occurred fifty years ago; with that in mind, it must be said that some progress has been made, but there is always more to do.
The decreasing size of the world due to globalization has done wonders for the idea of multiculturalism and tolerance in America. Due to the advent of the Internet and international travel, it is much easier for people of all cultures to communicate with each other. As communication and proximity is key to understanding and tolerance, it became much harder to withstand the concept of "the Other," the people who you never see, do not know anything about, and thus inherently distrust. The Information Age has globalized the world to the point where it is nearly impossible not to know something about people from nearly all cultures; if you do not, that information is almost instantly accessible. However, this is not to say that racism is dead. In fact, the era of globalization has made it easier to discount all claims of persistent racism as foolhardy, since it would be "impossible" to be racist in this day and age.
DuBois was correct in that race relations was (and is) the problem facing the 20th century and beyond. The huge steps that have been taken to combat racism have provided a protective shield of sorts around those racist policies and attitudes that remain, as globalization has made it seem as though there is no more work to be done. This attitude merely furthers white privilege, as it creates an atmosphere of distrust and insulates said privilege under the guise of nonexistence. At the same time, globalization offers substantial antiracist opportunities, not the least of which is the opportunity to educate those who have incorrect ideas about the cultures and behaviors of others. As people travel more and have greater access to people from other cultures, that personal contact allows for a more immediate sense of identification of races as people, and not The Other. To that end, globalization, despite its tendency to lull those with privilege into thinking the fight is over, also has tremendous potential to educate and inform.
The Timeroom Gang and the Haymarket Riots (2013): In this IMAX 3D extravaganza, the class of (INSTRUCTOR NAME) is suddenly transported back in time to Chicago in the 1880s; just outside the door to the classroom is Haymarket Square – the date: Tuesday, May 2, two days before the infamous Haymarket labor riots that would shake Chicago’s labor force and determine its history. While (INSTRUCTOR NAME) (played by Julianne Moore/Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson depending on gender) seeks to find a safe place to keep her students and find a way back to their time, (STUDENT NAME) (played by Josh Hutcherson/Jennifer Lawrence depending on gender) discovers a mobster from the future (played by Gary Oldman) who is plotting to kill August Spies (played by Steve Buscemi) in order to stop him from keeping the Chicago labor union together. His plan is to profit from the lack of labor union regulations that come about as a result of the Riots.
Coming to INSTRUCTOR with this news, the class collectively decides to find a way to stop this villain from carrying out his plan. On the day of the Haymarket Riot, STUDENT follows the mobster to Haymarket Square, where he clandestinely plants a bomb that will go off and kill Spies; STUDENT manages to grab it and throw it out of the way in time to save Spies’ life, but in turn causes the Riots themselves. INSTRUCTOR reassures STUDENT that they did the right thing (despite the nearly dozen deaths and dozens of injuries), capture the mobster and use his time travel device to get to back home. However, the class opens the door to the hallway only to see a T-rex running towards them. TO BE CONTINUED.
93 mins. PG-13. ***/***** stars.
Works Cited
Barlow, Andrew L. Between Fear and Hope: Globalization and Race in the United States. (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003).
Cowie, Jefferson. Stayin’ Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class (The New
Press, 2010).
Lukas, J. Anthony. Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American
Families (Alfred A. Knopf, 1985).
Shrestha, Laura B., and Heisler, Elayne J. "The Changing Demographic Profile of the United States." Congressional Research Service. (2011).
Smelser, Neil J., Wilson, Julius, and Faith Mitchell. America Becoming: Racial Trends and their Consequences, Volume 1 (National Research Council, 2001).
