Crosscurrents of crisis in 1970s America : trouble abroad, corruption at home, conservatism and the distrust of government, economic insecurity, turning inward -- The rising tide of equality and democratic reform : women in the public sphere, women in the private sphere, the many frontiers of equality, political reform, resistance -- The spread of market values : a sea change of principles, the economy goes south, globalization's gathering speed, from citizenship to deregulation, market solutions for every problem, a freer market, a coarser culture -- The retreat of empires and the global advance of the market : the emergence of human rights, European empires and Southern Africa, the Soviet Empire, the American empire, the Israeli exception, the retreat of the state, China and the hollowing out of socialism -- Resistance to the new hyper-individualism : the environmentalist challenge, religious resurgence at home, religious resurgence in Israel, religious resurgence in the Muslim world, Jimmy Carter as a man of his times -- More and less equal since the 1970s : evidence to the contrary, inclusiveness ascending, markets persisting, unrestrained consumption, inequality rising.
Summary:
The 1970s looks at an iconic decade when the cultural left and economic right came to the fore in American society and the world at large. While many have seen the 1970s as simply a period of failures epitomized by Watergate, inflation, the oil crisis, global unrest, and disillusionment with military efforts in Vietnam, Thomas Borstelmann creates a new framework for understanding the period and its legacy. He demonstrates how the 1970s increased social inclusiveness and, at the same time, encouraged commitments to the free market and wariness of government. As a result, American culture and much of the rest of the world became more--and less--equal.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.