Portrait, Robert Reich, 08/16/09. (photo: Perian Flaherty)
13 August 13
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is the nation more bitterly divided today than its been in eighty
years? Why is there more anger, vituperation, and political polarization
now than even during Joe McCarthys anti-communist witch hunts of the
1950s, the tempestuous struggle for civil rights in the 1960s, the
divisive Vietnam war, or the Watergate scandal?
If anything, youd think this would be an era of
relative calm. The Soviet Union has disappeared and the Cold War is
over. The Civil Rights struggle continues, but at least we now have a
black middle class and even a black President. While the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan have been controversial, the all-volunteer army means
young Americans arent being dragged off to war against their will. And
although politicians continue to generate scandals, the transgressions
dont threaten the integrity of our government as did Watergate.
And yet, by almost every measure, Americans are
angrier today. Theyre more contemptuous of almost every major
institution - government, business, the media. Theyre more convinced the
nation is on the wrong track. And they are far more polarized.
Political scientists say the gap between the median Republican voter and the median Democrat is wider today on a whole host of issues than its been since the 1920s.
Undoubtedly, social media play a part - allowing people
to pop off without bearing much responsibility for what they say. And
most of us can cocoon within virtual or real communities whose members
confirm all our biases and assumptions.
Meanwhile, cable news and yell radio compete for
viewers and listeners by being ever more strident. Not long ago I
debated a Republican economic advisor on a cable TV program. During the
brief station-break, the shows producer told me to "be angrier." I told
her I didnt want to be angrier. "You have to," she said. "Viewers are
surfing through hundreds of channels and will stop for a gladiator
contest."
Within this cacophony, weve lost trusted arbiters of
truth - the Edward Murrows and Walter Cronkites who could explain what
was happening in ways most Americans found convincing.
Weve also lost most living memory of an era in which
we were all in it together - the Great Depression and World War II -
when we succeeded or failed together. In those years we were palpably
dependent on one another, and understood how much we owed each other as
members of the same society.
But I think the deeper explanation for what has
happened has economic roots. From the end of World War II through the
late 1970s, the economy doubled in size - as did almost everyones
income. Almost all Americans grew together. In fact, those in the bottom
fifth of the income ladder saw their incomes more than double.
Americans experienced upward mobility on a grand scale.
Yet for the last three and a half decades, the middle
class has been losing ground. The median wage of male workers is now
lower than it was in 1980, adjusted for inflation.
In addition, all the mechanisms weve used over the last three decades to minimize the effects of this descent - young mothers streaming into paid work in the late 1970s and 1980s, everyone working longer hours in the 1990s, and then borrowing against the rising values of our homes - are now exhausted. And wages are still dropping - the median is now 4 percent below what it was at the start of the so-called recovery.
Meanwhile, income, wealth, and power have become more concentrated at the top than theyve been in ninety years.
As a result, many have come to believe that the deck
is stacked against them. Importantly, both the Tea Party and the
Occupier movements began with the bailouts of Wall Street - when both
groups concluded that big government and big finance had plotted against
the rest of us. The former blamed government; the latter blamed Wall
Street.
Political scientists have also discovered a high correlation between inequality and political divisiveness.
The last time America was this bitterly divided was in
the 1920s, which was the last time income, wealth, and power were this
concentrated.
When average people feel the game is rigged, they get
angry. And that anger can easily find its way into deep resentments - of
the poor, of blacks, of immigrants, of unions, of the well-educated, of
government.
This shouldnt be surprising. Demagogues throughout
history have used anger to target scapegoats - thereby dividing and
conquering, and distracting people from the real sources of their
frustrations.
Make no mistake: The savage inequality America is experiencing today is deeply dangerous.
Robert B. Reich, Chancellor's Professor of Public
Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, was Secretary of
Labor in the Clinton administration. Time Magazine named him one of the
ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the last century. He has
written thirteen books, including the best sellers "Aftershock" and "The
Work of Nations." His latest is an e-book, "Beyond Outrage." He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine and chairman of Common Cause.
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