The fourth great political revolution: 1789, 1858, 1928, and today

[Valin]

AEI/Bradley Lecture:

12/10/12

 

Event Description

The US has been shaped by three far-reaching political revolutions: Thomas Jefferson’s “revolution of 1800,” the Civil War, and the New Deal. Each of these upheavals brought about lasting institutional and cultural adjustments that set the stage for new phases of political and economic development in America.

 

Is America on the verge of a “fourth revolution” that will reshape US politics for decades to come? There are signs to suggest that it is. The post–war system was built around assumptions of continuous growth in standards of living and public budgets, but American economic growth has been slowing for decades. Unprecedented levels of debt, a stagnant economy, and the impending retirement of the baby-boomer generation — mixed with increasingly polarized politics — could bring down the system of governance established in the 1930s and 1940s and inaugurate a new period of instability, shifting party coalitions, and political innovation. In this Bradley Lecture, James Piereson will explain how these changes signify the end of one stage of national development and the beginning of a new one.

 

 

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