From Puritanism to Modern Morality Politics



Morone’s argument:

American political culture based on Puritan/Calvanist foundation

Moralist movements have rose from both the right and left

Debates based on an US vs THEM dichotomy

Morone’s theory mirrors Eckstein’s Culturalist Theory


Morone’s Moralist Cycle:

1. Conversion
2. Government Intervention
3. Institution building



The Social Gospel
The New Puritans
Early Puritans










The New Puritans – 4 General “sin” categories in society


Laziness

Drinking/Drugs

Violence

Sex







Post office Example – History may be repeating itself with debates over Internet policy



The Social Gospel – Social pressures to blame for people’s sins

Example: Poverty driving people to drink

Drug abuse as a disease

Sex as a public health issue




Does Morone’s theory adequately account for policy change in American political history?

How well can modernization theory explain periodic revivals in American political history?

Is “The New Puritanism” on the rise or decline in contemporary public policy? Is “The Social Gospel” returning?


Generations


What is a generation? - Special cohort-group whose lenth matches that of a basic phase of life. Events shape generational personalitiesaccording to their phase of life.

Generations come in cycles. The authors produce the following model:

Reactive (Gis) 1925 - 1942
Idealist (Boomers) 1943-1961
Adaptives (Xers) 1962 - 1981
Civic (Millenial) 1982 - 2000


Generations are shaped by “Social Moments” – an era, typically lasting about a decade, when people perceive historic events are radically altering their social environment.

2 types of Social Moments

Secular Crisis – when society focuses on reordering the outer world of institutions and public behavior

Spiritual Awakenings – when society focuses on changing the inner world of values and behavior

These 2 types of social moments tend to alternate