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A review by ethanhedman
Reaganland: America's Right Turn 1976-1980 by Rick Perlstein
5.0
Perlstein continues his chronicle of the rise of the right wing in the US masterfully. Continuing the fracturing of the New Deal coalition by Goldwater and Nixon, Reagan and company shatter it and perfect politics that goes on the offensive. What is often overlooked (which Perlstein documents) is how erratic and arrogant Carter could be, leading to his political failure.
Many have said in recent years that Trump was not the wave of right wing populism but just a symptom of the wave, and I believe they are correct, but what Perlstein's 'Nixonland' and 'Reaganland' have shown me is that no one person began the wave. Rather, different people harnessed it's political, religious, cultural, and national power - and got scarily effective at it. Many people have despaired, and still do, over the polarized paradigm the US has found itself in and that it has horrifying consequences here and abroad, and I agree with that. I would argue, we deserved (and still deserve) this, this is who we are, this is the baggage that comes along with living comfortably within an empire.
Many have said in recent years that Trump was not the wave of right wing populism but just a symptom of the wave, and I believe they are correct, but what Perlstein's 'Nixonland' and 'Reaganland' have shown me is that no one person began the wave. Rather, different people harnessed it's political, religious, cultural, and national power - and got scarily effective at it. Many people have despaired, and still do, over the polarized paradigm the US has found itself in and that it has horrifying consequences here and abroad, and I agree with that. I would argue, we deserved (and still deserve) this, this is who we are, this is the baggage that comes along with living comfortably within an empire.