|
The Age of Austerity: How Scarcity Will Remake American Politics,by Thomas Byrne Edsall, Random House of Canada, Toronto, Jan. 2012,256 pages, C$27.95 It is the worst of times, if we are to believe former WashingtonPost political reporter Thomas Edsall, now a professor ofjournalism at Columbia University. He should know. He has spent 25 years studying and writing about the Americanpolitical landscape and has already written four books oncontemporary American politics. The Age of Austerity is his fifth. He didn"t convince me. Furthermore, he kept using the twowords "austerity" and "scarcity" as thoughthey meant one and the same thing, and to me they are not the same. Austerity is simple living. In economics, austerity is a policy ofdeficit-cutting, lower spending, and a reduction in the amount ofbenefits and public services provided. Scarcity is about something in short supply. People have unlimitedwants but resources are limited. He also suggests that a sense ofscarcity is redefining American politics, and potentially theUnited States" place in the world. I would argue that the United States is not alone. We see the needfor austerity in Greece, Italy, and indeed in most of Europe, andaccording to our prime minister, in Canada as well. Edsall is one of many journalists who want to dissect the aftermathof the economic collapse of 2008. He places the blame for the mess the United States is in squarelyat the feet of government. He says the endless bi-partisan battlesover government spending in a time of belt-tightening are shapingthe 2012 presidential campaign. Probably what I found most interesting was his definition ofRepublicans and Democrats. I knew they were worlds apart in theirideology, but I really didn"t understand their fundamentaldifferences. Edsall threw some light on these differences, although I"mnot sure everyone would agree with him. He cites a study that associates Democrats with feminine traitssuch as compassion, empathy, unselfishness, and egalitarianism;Republicans are associated with more masculine traits, likedecisiveness, toughness, confidence and a hawk-like nature. The Republican Party speaks to white voters, especially relativelywealthy, older, married Christians. While its voter base isshrinking, the party demonstrates "exceptional levels ofunity." The Democratic vote, on the other hand, comes from Hispanics,African-Americans, other minorities and single women. They areyounger. They are poorer. They are also much harder to rally intospeaking as a single voice. Now I have a better feel for where Republican Mitt Romney wascoming from when he said that Democratic President Obama believesin "equality of outcomes" while real Americans believein "equality of opportunity." Up until this point I had felt Edsall was presenting a verybalanced view of what was happening in his country. It wasn"tuntil he began describing the two parties that I realized he wasWAY over on the left, even further to the left than Barack Obamaand his ideals of government by consensus. I was disappointed he didn"t spend any time on the Tea Party,except to point out it was even more conservative than theRepublicans. Even with his particularly liberal view of what is happening in theU.S., he speaks with authority, backing up his own observationswith meticulous references and documentation. Edsall paints a dismal picture of the future, weighed down by sloweconomic growth, growing unemployment, tougher immigration laws,and unprecedented acrimony between these two parties. However, I am still not convinced things cannot change. Perhaps two books in succession about a bleak road ahead were justtoo much for my optimistic nature. I can"t help but thinkthat American resiliency will overcome the pessimism portrayed inThe Age of Austerity. You can reach Kaye through her business website www.ThinkTraining.ca , her personal website, kayeparker.ca or follow her twitter @ ThinkKayeParker. ( Kaye@thinktraining.ca ). I am an expert from ledglobelightbulbs.com, while we provides the quality product, such as T8 Led Fluorescent Tubes Manufacturer , Indoor Led Light Bulbs Manufacturer, Led Spotlight Bulbs,and more.
Related Articles -
T8 Led Fluorescent Tubes Manufacturer, Indoor Led Light Bulbs Manufacturer,
|
