The Realignment of American Democracy since the 1960s - Book Report/Review Example

The Realignment Of American Democracy Since The 1960’s Table of Contents I. Introduction, Summation II. Author Argument III. On Whether the Author Convinces IV. How the Book Challenges/Confirms My Thoughts on the Left References I. Introduction, Summation This paper undertakes a review of the book ‘All in the Family’ by Robert Self. The book is said to have traced the evolution of the political right and its fundamental position for the traditional male family and for conservative values in opposition to a rising liberal tide that had, from the sixties onwards, pushed for reforms to traditional family values tied to patriarchy and heterosexual white families as the basic family unit. This latter reality is termed as “breadwinner liberalism”. Liberal values and arrangements have made significant inroads into American society, in terms of greater civil rights for minorities and the broadening of legal protections and recognition of alternative family models, and the push for gender equality and greater political, civil and economic liberties for women and for the third sex. The present situation is one where the right has come to be associated with conservative family values as discussed above, and of a disdain for the watering down of more strict American moral values brought about by the rise of liberals. All throughout this history from the 60’s onwards, Self ties the developments and the changes as discussed above to the notion of the family as also a political and greatly politicized social unit, through which the battles between the conservatives and the liberals have been waged. Self argues, among other things, that the Republican drive for conservative fiscal policies and the conservative, pro-traditional family position are two sides of the same coin, and this conservatism is both a backlash as well as an enduring counterpoint to the advances made by the left from the 1960’s onwards. It is a backlash in the sense that the liberal push has altered the power dynamic and gnawed at the status quo that the right represents. It is a re-framing of American political history along the lines of the family as a political entity and arena of political struggle between right and left (Google 2012; Self 2012; Hymowitz 2012; Goldberg 2012). II. Author Argument The arena of battle in the political landscape of America from the 1960’s onwards, according to Self, is the American family. In there was the stage where the landscape of American family was reshaped along social and fiscal lines, with the impetus of the refashioning being the clash of two opposing forces. On one side was the traditional male-dominated family unit, where the male was also the breadwinner and the heterosexual family, white, and cutting along socio-economic lines, was the mainstream. On the other side were the feminists, the African Americans, the homosexuals, and other marginalized sectors of society who pushed back against the traditional family values and pressed for change. Breadwinner liberalism was the defining position of that wide swathe of the population who could not identify with both liberal fiscal policies as well as the liberal social positions of those pushing for change. Breadwinner liberals argued for the preservation of traditional family values, and was not in favor of the liberal socialist agenda and the notion of the welfare state. The realignment was precisely along these family lines, with the liberal breadwinners naturally forming the core of the conservative right that emerged during this time period. The author makes this argument to try and make sense of the political developments around this era, and to try and come up with a version of events that is truer to the real dynamics of this era, and that clears up the confusion and the lack of general agreement on what exactly transpired and how the present state of things in American politics can be properly framed for analysis and understanding. For instance why do working class families resistant to the liberal fiscal agenda, even though it is something that is advantageous to them in some respects? Breadwinner liberalism and the rise of the modern conservative right provides a key to understanding (Self 2012; Hymowitz 2012; Goldberg 2012). III. On Whether the Author Convinces There are aspects of the argument and key points of the author that make sense. Indeed, from experience, I am baffled by why some working class families have remained staunchly Republican, even though Democrat programs like universal health care are supposed to improve their lives, or at least intend to. On the other hand, viewed from the vantage point of Self’s framework of the family as a political entity, and from the point of view of the right as reacting to the watering down of traditional, male-oriented white family values, then it makes some sense. Certainly from a more general perspective, the right’s rise can be viewed as a reaction to change, and a kind of backlash or counter-push. From one vantage point this is what Self says, that where breadwinner liberalism was the implicit political position of the traditional white family, that implicit political stand became explicit when the feminists, and then gays, and then minorities,mothers and young people began clamoring for and successfully pushing for change that impinged on the values of the traditional family. On the other hand I find it interesting that Self seems to dwell only slightly, indirectly at most, on the dimensions of the political right that are tied to religious conservatism. The traditional white family are also fundamentalist Christians, and not enough energy, in my opinion, was given to exploring the religious dimensions of the divide between these breadwinner liberals and the rest of America. For instance, how much of that backlash that Self refers to is the result of religious ideology pushing back against homosexuality and more liberal values and morals revolving around sexuality that the feminists, gays and young hippies represented? For me this is not clear from reading the book, because the unique lens that Self uses which centers on his conception of the breadwinner liberal excludes a more thorough exploration of the religious aspects of the divide (Self 2012; Hymowitz 2012; Goldberg 2012). IV. How the Book Challenges/Confirms My Thoughts About the Right I have always thought that the Left had become the way it was because of the way the Republicans and its constituents represented an old order that was being beset by challenges and by forces of change from all sides. I had always thought for instance that the Left pushed back against marriage equality because that was a threat to their worldview of the American family being heterosexual and being primarily a male-dominated arrangement where the man earned a living and the woman tended the house. Also, that the women in these family arrangements welcomed the traditional family unit, and were not necessarily of the view that their opportunities and their lives were being curtailed in some way. These are confirmed by the book in some way. The story of the left is a story of backlash, and one that is still being played out today. Self frames the divide along lines that make sense because yes, it is true that the ideological divide along family values is real and seemingly intractable. It is like dividing night and day very neatly, in some respects. On the other hand, as I have discussed above, there are aspects of the book that challenge my thoughts on the matter, and to which I still have some questions even after reading the book. Does Self’s framework explain the division along religious lines? It is not clear to me whether the divide can also be explained by religion and the religious values that both sides of the divide hold (Self 2012; Hymowitz 2012; Goldberg 2012). 1 References Goldberg, Michelle. “Breadwinner Conservatism: On Robert O. Self”. The Nation. Accessed 24 April 2014. http://www.thenation.com/article/170332/breadwinner-conservatism-robert-o-self# Google 2012. “Overview- All in the Family: The Realignment of American Democracy Since the 1960’s by Robert O. Self”. Google Books. Accessed 24 April 2014. http://books.google.com Hymowitz, Kay 2012. “The Original Culture Warriors”. The Wall Street Journal. Accessed 24 April 2014. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10000872396390444358804578017242554945624 Self, Robert 2012. All in the Family: The Realignment of American Democracy Since the 1960’s. Farrar, Straus and Giraux. Google Books. Accessed 24 April 2014. http://books.google.com Read More