On May 16, 2008, at 4:43 PM, Wojtek Sokolowski wrote:
> Were not people saying the same in the 1960s and
> 1970s? And then we got the "Reagan revolution."
>
> I think that the best predictor of the popular
> attitudes is the economy. If it is growing, everyone
> has high expectations about the future and becomes
> more receptive of liberal ideas. It it is going south,
> people get scared, bitter, close in thier ranks and
> adopt reactionary ideas.
But that's not happening this time. The public mood is as sour now as it's ever been in the history of polling. But people are, on balance, not turning right in response. At least not yet.
Things were getting better in a lot of ways in the 1960s and 1970s. The Reagan revo was initially conceived by the ruling class. It got ratified by popular opinion, but there was a mobilization at the top that led the way. I don't see that happening now. At least not yet.
Doug