Nixon's the One

[Nathan Newman]

>From: eric dorkin
>It strikes me that the real Reagan "revolution" is the
>(re)birth of a distorted sense of freedom.  People
>believe now, more so than they did pre-Reagan, that
>the well being of their neighbors and fellow citizens are
>secondary goods to be achieved only after individual success
>(usually defined in pecuniary terms).  To say another way,
>"we would be free to do as we see fit because no one knows
>my needs better than me -- just you and your laws, leave me alone"

That libertarian sentiment is as much a product of the counter-culture as of
Reaganism and doesn't explain the rise of the religious right which is very
interested in NOT having people left alone.

As I noted, I don't buy interpreting certain policy successes as overarching
ideological changes.  I think that the Right was much more strategic in
holding together the conflicting libertarian and majoritarian impulses that
permeated their coalition.  The explanation of rightwing ideological success
is far better explained by the concrete coalition-building outlined in books
like Sidney Blumenthal's RISE OF THE COUNTER ESTABLISHMENT than in sorting
through public opinion polls that are remarkably unchanging on many issues
that saw quite dramatic policy changes over the years.

-- Nathan Newman