Comprehensive Political Cycle Theory

[David Horn]

Hintergrund Wrote:1968? 1972? 1980? People agree that a new party system started around then, but can't agree on the exact start. Maybe there really is none, it was a gradual thing.

Frankly, it doesn't matter.  What happened was a realignment outside politics that was then imposed on the political realm.  You can see the triggering in the economy first.  Here's an ideal example:


There are a lot of things that happened in that time frame (~1973): the Saudi Oil Embargo, Watergate, the end of the Vietnam War.  Take your pick or add your own.  For me, the oil embargo was the most important, because it triggered the two-earner revolution in earnest.  It was two earners or starve, and the stress levels inherent in having no adult in the home and no societal alternatives available to mitigate the loss pushed a lot of young parents toward hating the government for not being there when it was needed.