Breaking China Over “Shattered Consensus”

[Valin]

Power Line:

Steven Hayward

July 16, 2015

 

The folks over at RealClearBooks have arranged point-counterpoint style rival reviews of James Piereson’s new book Shattered Consensus: The Rise and Decline of America’s Postwar Political Order, one from me, and one from Will Marshall of the Progressive Policy Institute. I’ve reposted my review immediately below. You can find Marshall’s review here, and Jim Piereson’s reply to Marshall here. And at the bottom you’ll find the sound file of my interview with Piereson from the Bill Bennett show on Monday:

 

The American Humpty-Dumpty

 

A Review by Steven F. Hayward

 

Shattered Consensus: The Rise and Decline of America’s Postwar Political Order, by James Piereson. New York: Encounter Books. 389 pages, $27.99

 

Political polarization has become the chief topic—indeed, a near obsession—with the chattering class and “good government” types. Survey data and common-sense perception certainly testify to deep political and cultural divisions among Americans, which contribute to political gridlock in Washington and in many state capitals. But is there anything really new about our polarization? Are we more sharply or deeply divided than we were, say, in 1968, when student protestors virtually hounded Lyndon Johnson out of office with “Hey, hey, LBJ—how many kids did you kill today?”

 

(Snip)

 

Piereson offers a synoptic account of what he suggests is America’s coming “fourth revolution” (the first three being the party clash of 1800, the Civil War, and the Great Depression). Liberalism’s unraveling and the incomplete replacement of the liberal consensus with a conservative one means that we’re living in an unstable time, which will eventually result in some far-reaching changes in our constitutional order. Is this instability dangerous? Is a Greek-style financial crisis in our future, as liberalism fails to “make payroll,” so to speak, as we’re seeing now in Illinois and elsewhere? Piereson is guardedly optimistic: “This forecast of a ‘fourth revolution’ in the years ahead does not mean that Americans should be hoarding gold or stockpiling canned food. The end of the postwar regime need not bring about the end of America. On the contrary, it could open a dynamic new chapter in the American story.” But “the journey is likely to be difficult.”