American Politics in the 1980s

The United States is clearly in the midst of a “conservative revival.” As usual in such cases of “mood shift,” the revival is spearheaded by intellectuals—particularly those who cluster around the Committee on the Present Danger and Public Interest. Symptoms include the California tax revolts of 1978 and 1980 (Proposition 13 and “Jarvis II,” an initiative aimed at cutting the state income tax); the adoption by two dozen state legislatures of a constitutional-amendment proposal requiring balanced federal budgets; the string of victories by very conservative Republicans in Southern and Western Senate elections; and, last but by no means least, Jimmy Carter’s position as the most conserva...