Every person now and again suffers nostalgia for an idea that didn't work. "Those were the days, my friend, we thought they's never end..." Myron Magnet reveiews the hopes and dreams of the 1960's American ideas and how they worked out.
After half a century of expanding economy in the United States, how could poverty become worse? After five decades of the War on Poverty how could homelessness increase exponentially? After 50 years of Civil Rights advances, how is it that racial tensions seem worse? After two generations of Feminism, why do women report less happiness and satisfaction than during the days of oppression? And why is it that educational achievement and opportunity appear to have lessened for the lower half of America's income strata despite all the "progress" made? These paradoxes are addressed and analyzed in Magnet's 1993 examination of the the cultural revolution aptly entitled, "The Dream and the Nightmare: The Sixties' Legacy to the Underclass."
Magnet discusses the power of (shared) ideas which constitutes culture and points out what should be obvious, that ideas have consequences, particularly in influencing behavior. The intellectual shift manifest in the 1960's among elites, particularly on college campuses, marked a change from an assumption of personal responsibility to social responsibility for others, and from an affirmation of traditional transcendent values to a desire for personal liberation. These shifts were detrimental to the elites, but disastrous for the underclass.His prescription is a return to the basic values of 1) Personal responsibility (we affect our own condition by our choices/we are free to shape our own fate); 2) Freedom under (limited by) the rule of law, applied equally in all communities; 3) that public/communal life is a boon, not an oppression; and 4) rights belong to individuals, not to groups. How Magnet understands these values is demonstrated in his exposition of various themes- the poor, homeless, race, youthful rebelliousness, law, and higher education.
At a time of expanding opportunity and improving conditions for America's underclass, the elites embraced ideas of economics/social determinism; if not actual Marxism, then something similar which regarded individuals as helpless cogs in a materialistic system. If you believe this to be true, then the motive of working to change your condition is eviscerated. Perhaps this is why non-white immigrants to America, insulated from these ideas, achieve more and rise out of the underclass to a markedly greater extent than do those born into the American underclass.An aspect of this that Magnet barely acknowledges but this Reviewer thinks noteworthy is that this deterministic idea embraced by the elites is truly HALF-BAKED, in that it is assumed that actions and beliefs of the underclass are determined but those of the elites are not. In the legal realm, this is the argument made to the court that the accused could not help doing what he did and therefore should not be held responsible, when the assumptions behind the argument would seem to suggest that the court could not help punishing the criminal and therefore should not be held responsible either.
The other idea embraced by the elites in the 1960's was that of personal liberation, the right/duty to develop one's own values rather than to accept those of the society that gave you life. As Sancho Panza says when he decided to follow Don Quixote, "Of course he is rich! When did a poor man ever find the time to go insane?" What the wealthy may do and suffer loss from, the underclass does and suffers disaster. The search for personal fulfillment through drug use and unrestrained sexuality moved from the campuses to the neighborhoods of the poor. The resultant self-destructive behavior damages not only those who practice them, but their children, leading to even greater difficulties for the succeeding generation.
As Magnet astutely points out, the reaction in the 1980's with yuppies and greed exhibited on Wall Street, was a logical response to the personal nihilism of 1960's rejection of traditional (transcendent) values. Where there is no agreed upon social values, then the superficial reigns supreme. As the Billy Joel anthem puts it- "Everybody's talking 'bout the new style, honey; all you need are looks and a whole lot of money..."
Magnet's thesis seems to be that we would be better off as a society if we rejected these dysfunctional Sixties' values. I agree. But we don't adopt values because of their utility (unless utility is our fundamental value- and perhaps Magnet IS appealing to America's cultural pragmatism). Values might be "caught" from culture- some sociological studies of institutions suggest that participants reflect the values that guide the institution they participate in, regardless of their beginning values/beliefs. This suggests a greater role for, and social benefit of, churches and other institutions for conserving and promoting transcendent values.
Overall, this was a good analysis and thought-provoking review of the legacy of the Sixties, an antidote to some of the nostalgia for these failed ideas.
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Discover the latest buzz-worthy books, from mysteries and romance to humor and nonfiction. Explore more
Customers who bought this item also bought
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
About the author
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2017
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2020
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2001
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2015
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2020
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2015
Top reviews from other countries
Ventas Servitas
Understand the history of the cultural revolution
Reviewed in France on May 25, 2023