Source: Bruce J. Schulman. The Seventies - The Great Shift
in Culture, Society, and Politics (2001)
in Culture, Society, and Politics (2001)
Newsweek devoted its cover on the 31 January 1984 issue to proclaim 1984 as the “Year of the Yuppie”. These Young Urban Professionals worked long hours in jobs/careers that were not fulfilling in-and-of themselves, so the identity of a Yuppie was through conspicuous consumption and luxurious leisure activities and possessions. By the Summer of 1984, Yuppies were ubiquitous in the US, and their influence was growing in the political and cultural arenas, with the most obvious example in politics Gary Hart’s campaign. Ironically, Jerry Rubin went from Yippies to Yuppie, becoming an investment banker. Rubin’s odyssey seemed ot many a fitting example of the failure of 1960s idealism.
Yuppies were seen as a rejection of hippies, in that the Yuppies totally rejected the values/ideals of the Counterculture. Whereas hippies thought property was theft, Yuppies saw property as an investment. Yuppies also echoed the term Preppie, which meant a sense of entitlement and a privileged life, but but Yuppies differed from Preppies because a Preppie was ascribed status, where a Yuppie was achieved status.
Yuppies were seen as a rejection of hippies, in that the Yuppies totally rejected the values/ideals of the Counterculture. Whereas hippies thought property was theft, Yuppies saw property as an investment. Yuppies also echoed the term Preppie, which meant a sense of entitlement and a privileged life, but but Yuppies differed from Preppies because a Preppie was ascribed status, where a Yuppie was achieved status.
The primary loyalty of a Yuppie was not family, country, or even corporations, but to social/economic networks. To a Yuppie, the accumulation of wealth was not tawdry or immoral, but worthy. Added to that tenet was that a typical Yuppie believed that accumulated wealth would lead to social change, in that the entrepreneur had replaced the reformer/radical.
The movie The Graduate (1967) was a Counterculture movie, whereas Risky Business (1983), with a similar premise, was a Yuppie movie, about making money. The success of Risky Business led to Hollywood many many more Yuppie movies were released during the rest of the 1980s. The media exaggerated how many Yuppies there actually were in the US (as they did w/ the hippies in the 1960s), but there was no exaggerating their influence in terms of setting trends and opinions.
By the time Reagan left office, Yuppies became a derogatory, even a pejorative term, and very few identified with the moniker. Even so, most of the US has the view that the private sector was far superior to the public sector, and while the term Yuppie was no longer in vogue, “Yuppiedom” had become entrenched in the fabric of the US.
The movie The Graduate (1967) was a Counterculture movie, whereas Risky Business (1983), with a similar premise, was a Yuppie movie, about making money. The success of Risky Business led to Hollywood many many more Yuppie movies were released during the rest of the 1980s. The media exaggerated how many Yuppies there actually were in the US (as they did w/ the hippies in the 1960s), but there was no exaggerating their influence in terms of setting trends and opinions.
By the time Reagan left office, Yuppies became a derogatory, even a pejorative term, and very few identified with the moniker. Even so, most of the US has the view that the private sector was far superior to the public sector, and while the term Yuppie was no longer in vogue, “Yuppiedom” had become entrenched in the fabric of the US.
Reagan echoed and espoused Yuppie views, phrasing them in ways that seemed corny to actual Yuppies. Similar to a Yuppie, Reagan wanted the business world to be free from the yoke of government regulations, inviting the private sector to take on/over what the public sector had been doing. Again, Reagan’s rhetoric didn’t match reality when it came to actually downsizing the federal government, but millions of Americans came to believe that the private sector was the solution over the public sector. For example, millions of people abandoned public parks for private health clubs, paying for the privilege. Town squares became shopping malls, and many more kids were enrolled in private schools. Millions moved into gated communities, providing their own security and policy. As the public sector did less, the private sector picked up at least much of the slack, with the well-to-do especially taking care of themselves. Secure zones of protection were for those that could pay for the luxury.
Poughkeepsie (NY) privatized its public water treatment plant, and Minneapolis gave half its sanitation business to private companies. Private “shadow governments” emerged, where the private sector took over from the public sector, especially in “packaged” communities, where in the gated utopias of the well-to-do, very strict covenants and rules were enacted. The regulations were so restrictive that if the local governments had enacted them, they would have been struck down by an angry populace.
Poughkeepsie (NY) privatized its public water treatment plant, and Minneapolis gave half its sanitation business to private companies. Private “shadow governments” emerged, where the private sector took over from the public sector, especially in “packaged” communities, where in the gated utopias of the well-to-do, very strict covenants and rules were enacted. The regulations were so restrictive that if the local governments had enacted them, they would have been struck down by an angry populace.
Neighborhood associations were created in the 1970s as a gimmick from developers, especially in the Sunbelt in areas trying to attract retirees. Those developers didn’t want the responsibility or costs of maintaining the common areas (e.g. swimming pools), so they pawned it of to the newly created associations. As the resources and revenues of these associations increased, so did their power to govern, very aggressively in most instances. The power to tax, legislate, and force obedience became the accepted norms. These private communities became the fastest-growing neighborhoods in the US, with millions of non-retirement age middle class citizens moving to such areas, opting for private schools, security, etc.
The slow march towards privatization started in the 1970s, and exploded in the 1980s, showing changes in attitudes towards taxes, centralized authority, and experimentation with communities (e.g. Forced Busing). The entrepreneur became a hero, and mistrust of unregulated corporations that had been a mainstay in US politics for many decades basically vanished, with Reagan popularizing and crystalizing the new consensus with his rhetoric. Reagan and the conservatives had transformed negative impressions that existed at the start of the 1970s into enthusiastic affirmation by the mid-1980s.
The slow march towards privatization started in the 1970s, and exploded in the 1980s, showing changes in attitudes towards taxes, centralized authority, and experimentation with communities (e.g. Forced Busing). The entrepreneur became a hero, and mistrust of unregulated corporations that had been a mainstay in US politics for many decades basically vanished, with Reagan popularizing and crystalizing the new consensus with his rhetoric. Reagan and the conservatives had transformed negative impressions that existed at the start of the 1970s into enthusiastic affirmation by the mid-1980s.
The Democratic opposition’s view was that if they couldn’t beat the Republican Party, it was best to join them. The Democrats avoided attacks on corporations and the privileged, and at least for the time-being, shifted to the right after Reagan’s landslide re-election in 1984. Business oriented Democrats moved to reorient and reorganize their party. Interestingly, campaign donations for many Democrats increased, while donations for some Republican candidates decreased.
During the 1980s, the Democrats adopted the Republican mantra that markets work better than government, and that the private sector was far superior to the public sector in expanding the economy. Much like the Yuppies canceling out the Hippies, the 1980s Democrats canceled the 1930s New Deal Democrats. Former Counterculture figures embraced capitalism in the 1980s, such as Jane Fonda going from anti-war protestor to starring in workout videos, Jerry Rubin becoming an investment banker, and Steve Jobs going from hippie to Apple During the 1980s, business became the arena where people went in order to make a difference, while also making money.
During the 1980s, the Democrats adopted the Republican mantra that markets work better than government, and that the private sector was far superior to the public sector in expanding the economy. Much like the Yuppies canceling out the Hippies, the 1980s Democrats canceled the 1930s New Deal Democrats. Former Counterculture figures embraced capitalism in the 1980s, such as Jane Fonda going from anti-war protestor to starring in workout videos, Jerry Rubin becoming an investment banker, and Steve Jobs going from hippie to Apple During the 1980s, business became the arena where people went in order to make a difference, while also making money.