History 65

1970s Economic Policy

March 23, 2006

I. Shattering the Cold War Consensus

            1. The New Internationalists’ Congress (transformation of the House; procedure and congressional revolt; Clark amendment and backlash)

            2. The Rise of Neoconservativism (difference in regional focus; force and the Middle East; intellectuals and Moynihan)

            3. Terrorism (European left terrorism; hijacking; US non-response?)

II. The Travails of Jimmy Carter

            1. The Carter Vision? (Vance and Brzezinski; Derian and importance of human rights office; early stumbles—Warnke, Nicaragua, Panama Canal Treaty; GOP surge—Viguerie, defeats of Clark and McIntyre)

            2. Nicaragua, Iran, Afghanistan (fall of Somoza and Shah, significance of Kirkpatrick article; uncertainties with Sandinistas; the Ayatollah’s Iran—US intelligence failures, taking of hostages, failure of rescue effort; Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and effect on US; Carter response—military increase, grain embargo, Olympics boycott)

III. The 1970s Economy

            1. Deindustrialization and Decline (policy effects: LBJ and Vietnam War, growth of deficit and abuse of fiscal policy, RN and wage/price controls; broad patterns: globalization and international competition, emergence of West Germany and Japan, effects of unions and competitiveness; international threats: Iranian revolution and quadrupling oil prices; “stagflation”; shattering of Democratic coalition—Watergate Democrats, Carter as technocrat, role of Volcker)

            2. Deregulation (regulation and the progressive ethos—unifying progressive era-reformers; regulation develops—institutionalizing monopolies, AT&T as example?; emergence of libertarian critique—Kahn; air travel: Airline Deregulation Act, growth of cut-fare airlines, expansions and consolidation; energy: failure of price controls strategy, move to conservation; telecommunications: MCI lawsuit, Wirth and breakup of AT&T, public backlash; long-term effects—competition, cell phones, etc., cable television; high-tech: Apple/IBM battle)