The 1970s: A New Global History from Civil Rights to Economic Inequality
2012; Oxford University Press; Volume: 99; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1093/jahist/jas440
ISSN1945-2314
Autores Tópico(s)Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics
ResumoA dozen years ago American historians had yet to make “the seventies” a historiographical field. Now, many outstanding era-defining books have been published, ranging from Bruce Schulman's brilliant work on the breakdown of the liberal consensus in a time of economic turmoil (The Seventies, 2001) to Jefferson Cowie's award-winning account of the end of the idea of the working class in the United States (Stayin' Alive, 2010). Thomas Borstelmann, then, enters a crowded field. However, with impeccable mastery of the domestic and international historical literature and a richly conceived argument, Borstelmann opens new ground with his broad overview. While his book lacks Cowie's flash or Schulman's narrative drive, Borstelmann has written the most intellectually compelling and cogently argued book yet on the 1970s era in the United States. Borstelmann organizes his six long chapters along two rich interconnected lines of argument. In a tour de force introduction, he states: Beneath the surface waves of economic, political, and cultural challenges that have captured the most attention flowed two powerful currents. One was the spirit of egalitarianism and inclusiveness that rejected traditional hierarchies and lines of authority, asserting instead the equality of all people. … The second powerful undercurrent was a decisive turn toward free-market economics as the preferred means for resolving political and social problems. (pp. 3–4)
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