What Do Most of America's Voters Really Want?

Is There A "Fourth Revolution" on the Horizon in America?

by Lawrence Kadish
January 25, 2016 at 5:00 am

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7294/piereson-fourth-revolution

The current political cycle reveals that many Americans are demanding unprecedented accountability from their elected leaders concerning wasteful spending and policies that have labeled our nation "The United Give Me States of America."
A growing majority of citizens want economic growth, job creation, national security and many insist on an end to policies of political correctness that prevent the education of our citizenry and, as they believe, is unraveling our basic right of freedom of speech.
Of equal concern are the prospects of ongoing terrorist acts against our nation and our allies, the unimaginable threat of a nuclear 9/11 or the global upheaval from a bankrupt America triggered by a default on our nation's unsupportable $19 trillion national debt.

In a recent conference entitled, "How to Think about Inequality," author James Piereson discussed key topics explored in his books, Shattered Consensus and The Inequality Hoax.

In Shattered Consensus, Piereson suggested that America is on the abyss of a new and historic phase of economic and political upheaval he calls the "Fourth Revolution." He cites three prior turning points in our nation's history: Jefferson's "Revolution of 1800," which created popular political parties as we know them, the Civil War and the New Deal. Piereson said he doesn't know when The "Fourth Revolution" will occur or what form it will take.

But as today's electorate respond to the rhetoric of current Presidential hopefuls one could argue that Piereson may be wrong in his timing. Between our dangerously unsustainable debt and the raw emotions of primary voters so evident in their passion for their respective candidates, we are far from the edge of Piereson's Fourth Revolution. We are in the midst of it.

The current political cycle reveals that many Americans are demanding unprecedented accountability from their elected leaders concerning wasteful spending and policies that have labeled our nation "The United Give Me States of America." A growing majority of citizens want economic growth, job creation, national security and many insist on an end to policies of political correctness, as they believe it is unraveling our basic right of freedom of speech.

Of equal concern are the prospects of ongoing terrorist acts against our nation and our allies, the unimaginable threat of a nuclear 9/11 or the global upheaval from a bankrupt America triggered by a default on our nation's unsupportable $19 trillion national debt. As stated previously:

In stark but simple terms, unless Americans are made aware of this financial crisis and demand accountability, the very fabric of our society will be destroyed. Interest rates and interest costs will soar and government revenues will be devoured by interest on the national debt. Eventually, most of what we spend on Social Security, Medicare, education, national defense and much more may have to come from new borrowing, if such funding can be obtained. Left unchecked, this destructive deficit-debt cycle will leave the White House and Congress with either having to default on the national debt or instruct the Treasury to run the printing presses into a policy of hyperinflation.

When there is no food on the table, when the dollar has no value, that is when demagogues like Hitler get into power.

That "Fourth Revolution" envisioned by Mr. Piereson would also need to include those in America who would seek to have our nation become a socialist state.

During his discussion, Piereson also addressed regressive taxation along with a broad range of economic and public policy issues that he covers in his companion book, The Inequality Hoax.

Piereson's presentation was well received and thanks should be offered to those who provide an important platform for some of our nation's most leading commentators and newsmakers.

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Comment on this item

7 Reader Comments

Prof • Jan 25, 2016 at 21:04

I disagree with Mr. Piereson's position. What America's voters want, and have wanted for the past 70 years, is to be fed, clothed, housed and entertained - at someone else's expense. And they have duly elected politicians that do exactly that! In a mere three generations we have evolved into an Orwellian caricature of a democracy.

This quote from Robert Heinlein sums it up - "For when the plebs discover that they can vote themselves bread and circuses without limit and that the productive members of the body politic cannot stop them, they will do so, until the state bleeds to death, or in its weakened condition the state succumbs to an invader—the barbarians enter Rome."

We are 19 trillion steps down the road to exsanguination, and the barbarians are already here, in their millions. One could say the voters got exactly what they wanted.

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Somon • Jan 25, 2016 at 20:33

"...the very fabric of our society will be destroyed..."
Too late, next.

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Stan Lee • Jan 25, 2016 at 12:01

Since 2008, the USA has been immersed in a political nightmare that is now in its last year of Obama's second term. He told America that he would "transform" the nation, and that could not have necessarily meant anything positive. However, the voters who are a frivolous bunch, had become inured to "political correctness" ruling their lives, besides Obama wasn't a full Caucasian presidential candidate and with PC came multiculturalism to a fault.

How noble would voters be to vote for Obama under such "realities?"

What his regime proved was anything but positive, the nation has never been in such a chaotic condition. The President "who would unite the races" proved to be the greatest divider of races in the USA. Never has the nation been in such deficit financially. Obama turned his back on U.S. allies in order to patronize Islamic totalitarian nations. Whereas the U.S. armed forces were second to none, it is now as diminished as it was in December 1941. The federal regime, under Obama, originated more "departments" than ever , in which Obama's political friends were placed at the head of those superfluous federal departments, whether they knew what they were doing or not. In his final year of his second term, the nation has taken a severe beating under a "no leadership" administration. Washington, DC, has its enemies all listed, and they are not foreign powers, the list is of American citizens. Obama regime paranoia.

Now, there is much grumbling in the electorate about illegal immigration, unattended national borders, a presidential regime that sneaks in Islamic Middle-Easterners while members of the U.S. Congress, many of whom should be voted out of office, debate in the chambers of Congress into infinity while the country rots from its head just as a fish decays.

The above is a terrible scenario, it can be aborted, it will require voters of a different breed. In the past seven+ years they voted any old way the public relations people created the images of the candidates who paid them. The nation is exhausting almost every chance its had to reclaim itself, and that will require an informed electorate. I hope and pray the American people are up to the task.

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Eric Nowak

Stan Lee • Jan 25, 2016 at 15:57

What planet are these analysts from? Are all of them beholden to big business and hostile globalist billionaires? The Trump rebellion is about what Americans want more than anything else: an end to the transformation of America and dispossession of Americans by an endless post-1965 flood of Third World affirmative action beneficiaries and dependents on redistribution of what's left of working-and-middle class wealth. The bosses have been distracting Americans with defensive campaigns against illegal immigration, but Americans know the problem is their replacement by legal immigrants and advocacy by those who hate what America is and those who wish to exploit what's left for economic gain. Denial of these facts at this point is laughable and puts the elites in a hole so deep that they will never crawl out of when the smoke has cleared.

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Anthony Aarons • Jan 25, 2016 at 11:58

There is no such thing as "the American people" -- no such thing as " the New York people." In a town of 10 or 15 thousand it's difficult, maybe impossible to reach consensus on these items trumpeted by the various politicians. But the media will tell you that approval of congress is less than 10% but the same people who concur with that disapproval rating returned 97% of incumbents in the last election.

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Michael Waugh • Jan 25, 2016 at 08:48

I retain the right of free speech in the UK regardless of politicians and our gutter media. I do not work for the BBC or as a civil servant so I have not got a career to lose. It is good to see the rising tide against the thought police in America.

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Fred Eckhaus • Jan 25, 2016 at 07:28

With all due respect to the author, the real change will come when gerrymandering based on political party affiliation no longer guarantees longevity in Congress. Doing away with the antiquated electoral college is also a necessary step in making officials more responsive to the electorate. Finally, term limits for Congress (3 terms) and the Senate, (2 terms) would rid us of ensconced career politicians.

All of this would require a Constitutional amendment, which should also address "money as speech" and "corporations as people". Return the process to the people. Get rid of PACs and use public funds and a limited cycle for elections.

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