Those in power fail to represent the disinterested abstractions (justice, civil rights, truth) that they ostensibly represent. The manipulation of truth and justice by the news media, show Wolfe's cynical view of these flawed apparatuses of human society. Tom Wolfe ruthlessly exposes the superficiality of 1980s culture. Wolfe directs his most serious criticism to the very rich, with their extravagant dinner parties, 6-block hired-car rides which cost $250, and thousand-dollar flower arrangements. Hypocrisy is rife in this novel, and most evident in the two leaders depicted on opposing sides, Reverend Bacon and the Mayor of New York. Neither of these men is truly concerned with the people of New York, but rather with their own advancement and profit. Each, in his way, is racist, but decries racism at every turn. Each purports to be "of the people" but uses his position of power for monetary gain. Wolfe captured the worst traits of America during the early years of the Unraveling.
The 1980's proceeded as expected with strengthening individualism and weakening institutions. The GI Generation Heroes began to depart from the scene. This steady, cautious, risk adverse generation that built American industry and finance were being pushed into retirement by the Baby Boomer Generation. The old civic order was cast aside and the cultural revolutionaries stormed the gates. Baby Boomers seized control of Wall Street, having never experienced a bear market, never faced adversity, and never having to care about anyone but themselves. A brooding sense of pessimism began to creep into the mood of the country. Fiduciary responsibility towards your clients and proper risk management was considered old school. Maximizing profits, generating fees, and getting rich was the mantra of the new Wall Street generation. As the Boomers grew rich and cynical on the street of dreams, moralistic charlatan frauds like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton exacted their share of profits for themselves and their constituents. The working middle class sunk deeper into despair as their wages continued a two decade long stagnation. Real hourly earnings were the same in 2005 as they were in 1984, and 10% below the level of 1972.
The trickle down crowd, mostly Republicans, contended that a rising tide lifts all boats. In theory that sounds great. In practice, it has proven to be a lie. During the 1980s and 1990s, all boundaries regarding compensation were obliterated by the "Me Generation". Executive pay packages began to skyrocket as they were viewed as rock stars and masters of the universe. The ratio of CEO's pay to the average worker's pay leaped from 30 to 1 in 1980 to 250 to 1 by 2005. If CEOs had performed phenomenally over this time period, a case could be made for this leap. But, corporate America and certainly Wall Street had brought the US economy to the brink of disaster by 2005. This outrageous pay disparity contributed to the deepening anger in the country simmering below the surface.
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Strauss & Howe aptly described the mood:
"Personal confidence remains high, and few national problems demand immediate action. But the public reflects darkly on growing violence and incivility, widening inequality, pervasive distrust of institutions and leaders, and a debased popular culture. People fear that the national consensus is splitting into competing "values" camps."
Cynical Alienation
"Now, I have to go back to work on my State of the Union speech. And I worked on it until pretty late last night. But I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time; never. These allegations are false. And I need to go back to work for the American people." President Bill Clinton, January 26, 1998
"The great story here for anybody willing to find it, write about it and explain it is this vast right-wing conspiracy that has been conspiring against my husband since the day he announced for president." First Lady Hillary Clinton, January 27, 1998
The appearance of progress on some issues overshadowed the underlying deterioration of societal institutions and practices. Social Security was "saved" by Alan Greenspan and his commission. Essentially he manipulated the CPI calculation downward, screwing future generations of seniors out of their rightful payouts. Politically difficult decisions regarding Medicare and Medicaid were deferred to sometime in the distant future. With oil prices averaging $20 per barrel through the 1980s and 1990s, a coherent long-term energy strategy seemed unnecessary to the next election cycle politicians who control this country. The deregulation of the Savings & Loan Industry gave them many of the capabilities of banks, without the same regulations as banks. Imprudent real estate lending, fraud and insider transactions by S&L executives, protected by high powered Washington politicians, led to the first financial crisis. The failure of 747 thrifts and losses of $160 billion to the taxpayer can be attributed to lax oversight and fraud.
The Berlin Wall fell as communism collapsed under the weight of central planning, corruption, and fraud. Academics like Francis Fukuyama foolishly declared "The End of History". According to Fukuyama, Democracy had won over all other forms of government:
"What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the Cold War, or the passing of a particular period of post-war history, but the end of history as such: that is, the end point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government."
Only a Harvard academic could spout such claptrap. By 1991, the U.S. was again at war. The 1st Gulf War was considered a moral war as the U.S. came to the rescue of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Using traditional military maneuvers, General Schwarzkopf obliterated Sadaam Hussein's Republican Guard. But, there was no consensus to follow through and eliminate Hussein. Unwittingly, we planted the seeds for the bleak later stages of the Unraveling by leaving military bases in Saudi Arabia. There were not many more feel good national experiences after the 1st Gulf War. A recession in 1991 (remember George Bush Sr. buying 4 pairs of socks at JC Penney to exhort Americans to shop America out of recession) caused by the S&L Crisis allowed an obscure Arkansas Governor to win the Presidency. The election of Bill Clinton ushered in the culture wars of the 1990s. The conservative religious right fought scorched earth battles with the liberal left wing elite who control the media. Pat Buchanan captured the animosity of this conflict:
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