First published 2020
Christopher Caldwell examines how the liberal reforms of the 1960s, designed to create a more just America, produced unexpected consequences that continue to shape contemporary politics. The author traces connections between seemingly disparate cultural phenomena, from Playboy magazine to affirmative action, from CB radio to Black Lives Matter, showing how attempts to correct historical injustices created competing visions of fairness. Caldwell argues that well-intentioned changes in law and society established parallel rule systems that different groups of Americans now follow, leading to the political polarization and conflict we see today. The book connects decades of cultural and policy shifts to explain how reformist ideals ultimately produced the conditions that brought an outsider candidate to presidential power. Caldwell offers readers a framework for understanding why contemporary American politics feels so fractured and why different groups seem to be operating under entirely different assumptions about how society should function.
Genres: american, political-science, non-fiction, 21st-century, current-affairs, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-analysis, social-commentary
Setting: America
Period: 1960s
352 pages · Hardcover · Simon Schuster