Blog Post #1 America's 2nd Gilded Age

My age places me in the first couple years of Generation Z. Many of the people I know who are
also in my generation are either in despair about the state of the world or are very angry and
resentful. That leads them to take positions that are extreme in ideology and substance. While
their anger and despair is understandable, it prevents them from grasping the history or context,
so they can’t formulate a complete and logical plan of action.


The context, according to most political economists, is that we are in the 2nd American Gilded
Age, which began in 1980. Patterns in our Gilded Age mirror the first that started after the Civil
War and ended around 1901. Then and now, there is tremendous inequality, poverty, political
corruption, environmental degradation, political polarization, gridlock, and narrow elections,
over-the-top materialism, systemic financial risk and robber barons with large amounts of
political control (Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, etc). As Mark Twain said,
“History does not repeat itself but it does often rhyme.” (He also coined the term “Gilded Age.”)


It’s more important than ever to quickly transition out of this political age. However many harms
the 1st Gilded Age inflicted on the poor, the exploitation was largely contained to U.S. soil. Due
to population growth, excessive consumerism, and how connected the world is, the harms of our
modern gilded age are being magnified across continents. The urgency of these problems is also
magnified. Take the rate of global warming, which is accelerating. According to the United
Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, time is running out to transition to a clean
energy economy.


So, how do we get out of this situation? What ended the 1st Gilded Age was muckraking
journalism, democratic elections, activism, organizing, true populists, and President Theodore
Roosevelt ushering in the Progressive Era. Those who are alarmed about these problems should
not give up on democracy or propose drastic ideas but use this Gilded Age history and modern
context (see blog post #2), plus democratic coalitions to accelerate fresh economic, social and
environmental reforms. Moreover, they should know the difference between true populists such
as former President Franklin D. Roosevelt or Congresswoman Katie Porter and faux populists
like former Senator Huey Long or former President Donald Trump. There is only a path out of
this if educated and passionate citizens create one with a new, positive vision for what America
can become.


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