Comments on: The Generational Cycle http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/06/the-generational-cycle.html The Law, the Universe, and Everything Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:59:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Bruce Boyden http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/06/the-generational-cycle.html/comment-page-1#comment-64136 Bruce Boyden Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:25:41 +0000 http://www.concurringopinions.com/?p=17206#comment-64136 I'm a little skeptical of the selection of events, which creates the appearance of a pattern. I think it may be underinclusive and overinclusive. E.g., why just party realignments and constitutional upheavals? Why not major political movements of any sort? Adding those in would get you the Progressive movement, among other things. I'm also not sure McKinley/Bryan is on a par with the others, but I suppose that's what your book is going to address. Also, there are some constitutional and party upheavals not on the list. There's the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850 -- both significant debates over the power of Congress over slavery that nearly shut down the government in those two years. There's also the collapse of the Whigs in the 1850s and the birth of the Republican party. The Reagan Revolution was the tail end of a party realignment for the Republicans that began with Nixon's election in 1968, right on the heels of the Civil Rights movement (not coincidentally). It may be falling apart now, which is probably the most significant event, party-upheaval-wise, of the 2008 election. If you throw all that in, the timeline starts to get pretty crowded, particularly in the 20th century. I’m a little skeptical of the selection of events, which creates the appearance of a pattern. I think it may be underinclusive and overinclusive. E.g., why just party realignments and constitutional upheavals? Why not major political movements of any sort? Adding those in would get you the Progressive movement, among other things. I’m also not sure McKinley/Bryan is on a par with the others, but I suppose that’s what your book is going to address. Also, there are some constitutional and party upheavals not on the list. There’s the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850 — both significant debates over the power of Congress over slavery that nearly shut down the government in those two years. There’s also the collapse of the Whigs in the 1850s and the birth of the Republican party. The Reagan Revolution was the tail end of a party realignment for the Republicans that began with Nixon’s election in 1968, right on the heels of the Civil Rights movement (not coincidentally). It may be falling apart now, which is probably the most significant event, party-upheaval-wise, of the 2008 election.

If you throw all that in, the timeline starts to get pretty crowded, particularly in the 20th century.

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