Descript |
xiii, 274 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm. |
Contents |
Preface -- A theoretical introduction: Multi-secular cycles in historical and modern societies - Modeling structural-demographic processes -- Overview of structural demographic variables: 1780-2010: Demography and wellbeing - Elite dynamics - The state - Dynamics of sociopolitical instability -- A complete secular cycle: from the revolution to the great depression, c.1780-1930: Long-term trends, 1780-1930: synthesis - The Antebellum Era - The rRoad to civil war: a dynamical model of Antebellum America - From the Gilded Age to the New Seal -- Current secular cycle: from the great depression to the present, c.1930-2010: Long-term trends, 1930-2010: a synthesis - From the New Seal to the Reagan Revolution: a dynamical model - Social pressures towards instability: from the Reagan Revolution to the troubles of our times - Conclusion: Two ages of discord -- References cited -- Index. |
Note |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-260) and index. |
Summary |
We are on the wrong track. Seventy percent of Americans (and counting) think so. The real wage of a US worker today is less than it was 40 years ago—but there are four times as many multimillionaires. As inequality grows, the politics become more poisonous. Every year, more and more Americans go on shooting sprees, killing strangers and passers-by—and now, increasingly, representatives of the state. Troubling trends of this kind are endlessly discussed by public intellectuals and social scientists. But mostly, they talk about only a small slice of the overall problem. After all, how on earth can yet another murderous rampage have anything to do with polarization in Congress? And is there really a connection between too many multimillionaires and government gridlock? Historical analysis shows that long spells of equitable prosperity and internal peace are succeeded by protracted periods of inequity, increasing misery, and political instability. These crisis periods—“Ages of Discord”—have recurred in societies throughout history. Modern Americans may be disconcerted to learn that the US right now has much in common with the Antebellum 1850s and, more surprisingly, with ancien régime France on the eve of the French Revolution. Can it really be true that there is nothing new about our troubled time, and that similar ages arise periodically for similar underlying reasons? Ages of Discord marshals Structural-Demograpic Theory and detailed historical data to show that this is, indeed, the case. The book takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride through American history, from the Era of Good Feelings of the 1820s to our first Age of Discord, which culminated in the American Civil War, to post-WW2 prosperity and, finally, to our present, second Age of Discord. |
Subject |
United States -- History.
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United States -- History -- Periodization.
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United States -- Population.
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Alt Title |
A structural-demographic analysis of American history.
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ISBN |
9780996139540 |
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0996139540 |
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