How we lost the center.

• Author: Bresler, Robert J.
• Position: STATE OF THE NATION

WE ARE LIVING in a time of change, transition, and disquiet as the world of the mid 20th century has been disappearing before our eyes. We have moved from an era of powerful centralized institutions and a common American culture. Every important institution of our economy and culture has been altered.

To pick a year, 1955, the U.S. stood at the peak of the global economy. Our corporate giants had few foreign competitors and benefited from an alliance with big government, defense contracts, and regulated airline routes. They had a cozy relationship with the big unions. They could pass on the generous union packages to the consumers, who were enjoying the post-war boom. There were three radio and television networks, four or five major film studios, and a handful of record companies. They operated under standards of decency established by the motion picture and the broadcasters' code. Consequently, people of all ages saw the same movies, sang the same songs, watched the same television programs, and generally adhered to the same social norms. It was a world of stability, hierarchy and order--and, of course, not destined to last.

Over the past several decades that changed. It began in the 1960s with the civil rights movement and the challenge to white domination, then the feminist movement and the weakening of a patriarchic order, and the environmental movement and the challenge to industrialization without limits. In the 1970s came the challenge to U.S. industrial dominance from Western Europe and Japan. No longer did we dominate in autos, steel, and electronics. Then came the insult from OPEC: spiking oil prices and the reminder that we no longer were the major exporter of oil. In fact, we were the leading importer.

In the 1980s came the computer revolution speeding up our lives, gradually reducing our dependence on physical labor, making inventories more efficient, and raising the importance of education and training for employment. Industries and companies that did not exist in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s rose to be the new giants--Apple, Microsoft, Wal-Mart, Comcast. The old giants such as GM, Big Steel, and Pan Am were holding on for their lives.

The structure of the mid-20th century dominated by large institutions is gone. That structure allowed for a broad general consensus in American politics in which the difference between the parties was played out--in football terms--close to midfield. The differences between the candidates...