The future of American politics is already visible. To see it, one must look beyond Washington to America's "laboratories of democracy," the states. Today's governors are hammering out a wide range of new approaches to the economic and social problems created by the transition to a post-industrial economy. In the process, they are constructing a new political paradigm: a post-Great Society, post-Reagan politics molded to the realities of the 1980s and 1990s. The bottom-up innovation is reminiscent of the Progressive Era, when America's governors-responding to the birth of an industrial economy-laid the groundwork for the New Deal. Laboratories of Democracy looks at six governors who sponsored innovative programs in the 1980s: Mario Cuomo of New York, Bill Clinton of Arkansas, Bruce Babbitt of Arizona, Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts, James Blanchard of Michigan, and Richard Thornburg of Pennsylvania. Osborne explores their experimental economic and social programs, from technology development to welfare reform. He argues that the new roles played by state governments foreshadow a new role for the federal government-just as the Progressive Era foreshadowed the New Deal.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Osborne, a freelancer who frequently writes for the New Republic and Atlantic, maintains that the real ferment and innovation in politics today is taking place at the state level. In argument, he offers mini-case histories of six governorsMichael Dukakis (Mass.), Mario Cuomo (N.Y.), Bruce Babbitt (Ariz.), Bill Clinton (Ark.), James Blanchard (Mich.) and Richard Thornburgh (Pa.). He applauds their sundry efforts to create venture-capital funds, restructure welfare, spur technological advances and build partnerships between the public and private sectors. But his insistent claim that a number of these governors are "neoprogressives" whose ideas go well beyond traditional party politics is arguable, judging from his own pointed critiques of their spotty administrations. Drawing up a balance sheet, Osborne recommends decentralized community-development programs that would invest in the capacity of the poor to hold jobs and create businesses.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
According to journalist Osborne, as the federal government in the Reagan era has retreated from experimentation in social and economic policy, state governments have stepped into the breach. This is not a new phenomenonmany New Deal reforms originated at the state level. Osborne profiles several of these present-day "laboratories of democracy"five states with Democratic governors; one with a Republican. He examines how these governors have fostered innovations in economics, education, and social policy. Most were accomplished through unique combinations of state government power and private expertise. Though not all were unqualified successes, the pragmatic approaches these governors took to major economic and social reforms could serve as models for federal actions as we head into the 1990s.Pamela R. Daubenspeck, Warren-Trumbull Cty. P.L., Warren, Ohio
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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