Great society : a new history / Amity Shlaes.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Shlaes, Amity, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nineteen sixties.

United States--History--1961-1969.

United States.

History.

United States--Social conditions--1960-1980.

Social conditions.

United States--Social life and customs--1945-1970.

Manners and customs.

United States--Economic policy--1961-1971.

Economic policy.

United States--Social policy.

Social policy.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

x, 511 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, portraits ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2019]

Summary:

"Today, a battle rages in our country. Many Americans are attracted to socialism and economic redistribution while opponents of those ideas argue for purer capitalism. In the 1960s, Americans sought the same goals many seek now: an end to poverty, higher standards of living for the middle class, a better environment and more access to health care and education. Then, too, we debated socialism and capitalism, public sector reform versus private sector advancement. Time and again, whether under John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, or Richard Nixon, the country chose the public sector. Yet the targets of our idealism proved elusive. What's more, Johnson's and Nixon's programs shackled millions of families in permanent government dependence. Ironically, Shlaes argues, the costs of entitlement commitments made a half century ago preclude the very reforms that Americans will need in coming decades. In Great Society, Shlaes offers a powerful companion to her legendary history of the 1930s, The Forgotten Man, and shows that in fact there was scant difference between two presidents we consider opposites: Johnson and Nixon. Just as technocratic military planning by "the Best and the Brightest" made failure in Vietnam inevitable, so planning by a team of the domestic best and brightest guaranteed fiasco at home. At once history and biography, Great Society sketches moving portraits of the characters in this transformative period, from U.S. Presidents to the visionary UAW leader Walter Reuther, the founders of Intel, and Federal Reserve chairmen William McChesney Martin and Arthur Burns. Great Society casts new light on other figures too, from Ronald Reagan, then governor of California, to the socialist Michael Harrington and the protest movement leader Tom Hayden. Drawing on her classic economic expertise and deep historical knowledge, Shlaes upends the traditional narrative of the era, providing a damning indictment of the consequences of thoughtless idealism with striking relevance for today. Great Society captures a dramatic contest with lessons both dark and bright for our own time." -- Publisher's description

Contents:

Introduction: The clash

New Frontier. The bonanza

Port Huron

Great society. Great society

Revolt of the mayors

Creative society

Interlude: looking for socialism

Housing society

Guns, butter, and gold

Reuther and the intruder

Abundant society. Moynihan Agonistes

The governor of California

Scarcity: Burns Agonistes

Coda: demolition in St. Louis.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 443-486) and index.

ISBN:

0061706426

9780061706424

OCLC:

1004923262