Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube, and the Future of American Politics | 
 enlarge | Authors: Morley Winograd, Michael D. Hais
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $15.57
You Save: $9.38 (38%)
New (19) Used (5) from $15.47
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 22464
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.2 x 1.3
ISBN: 0813543010
Dewey Decimal Number: 320.973014
EAN: 9780813543017
ASIN: 0813543010
Publication Date: March 30, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
It happens in America every four decades and it is about to happen again. America's demand for change in the 2008 election will cause another of our country's periodic political makeovers. This realignment, like all others before it, will result from the coming of age of a new generation of young Americans-the Millennial Generation-and the full emergence of the Internet-based communications technology that this generation uses so well. Beginning in 2008, almost everything about American politics and government will transform-voting patterns, the fortunes of the two political parties, the issues that engage the nation, and our government and its public policy.
Building on the seminal work of previous generational theorists, Morley Winograd and Michael D. Hais demonstrate and describe, for the first time, the two types of realignments-"idealist" and "civic"-that have alternated with one another throughout the nation's history. Based on these patterns, Winograd and Hais predict that the next realignment will be very different from the last one that occurred in 1968. "Idealist" realignments, like the one put into motion forty years ago by the Baby Boomer Generation, produce, among other things, a political emphasis on divisive social issues and governmental gridlock. "Civic" realignments, like the one that is coming, and the one produced by the famous GI or "Greatest" Generation in the 1930s, by contrast, tend to produce societal unity, increased attention to and successful resolution of basic economic and foreign policy issues, and institution-building.
The authors detail the contours and causes of the country's five previous political makeovers, before delving deeply into the generational and technological trends that will shape the next. The book's final section forecasts the impact of the Millennial Makeover on the elections, issues, and public policies that will characterize America's politics in the decades ahead.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Political pop science for the convinced July 2, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Winograd and Hais theorize that American political constituencies cycle and recycle every 40-years with each cycle fueled by new technologies that empower new constituencies. Ostensibly, the millennial "civic purpose" generation, by some astrological virtue, is poised to assume a mantle of power. If the authors are correct, then the Greatest Generation was great because of its place in a 40-year cycle and not because of the harsh reality of having to fight Adolph Hitler or die.
To support their theory, the authors would have us believe that "long periods of great stability in electoral outcomes" can be deduced from a pattern like Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush (D, R, D, D, R, R, D, R, R, D, R).
Often, in place of real historical events, the authors cite contemporary fiction -- video philosophy from Star Wars' Yoda or fictional facts from J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" that match their worldview. Potter may demonstrate fictional millennial virtues, but the authors avoid Dolores Umbrage, the teacher whose politically correct teaching ignores actual useful defenses against the dark arts. A champion of central authority, as the authors suggest millennials are, she and the Ministry of Magic avoid at all costs facing the "reality" of evil. Life seems so much easier when history begins at dawn.
The authors presume that Democrats alone can pull this generation's technological sword from the stone. Never mind that technology is a tool for whoever cares to learn enough to use it -- not just Democrats or Republicans, but fundamentalists, radicals, and reactionaries of all persuasions. The authors overlook the 60-year-old ideas of Marshall McLuhan, who warned of the importance of a medium's cognitive effects. Lose your content and you lose your bearings.
The book promotes now-ness, technological infatuation, and me-ness to suggest millennials deserve power because they are who they are -- which makes them ripe for picking by any chameleon-like leader. Look elsewhere for help understanding the past or planning a future because this book is a honey-pot of buzzwords for the convinced.
 Interesting but not wholly convincing June 14, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
"Millennial Makeover" presents a very interesting but not wholly convincing analysis of how politics may be shaped by the rise of the Millennials, or those born between 1982 and 2003. Relying far too much on a questionable cyclical reading of American history, Morley Winograd and Michael D. Hais nonetheless demonstrate how the Millennial's embrace of new cultural attitudes and technologies will impact the political dialogue for decades to come. While the author's selective presentation of data tends to prompt far more questions than answers, the book succeeds in providing an interesting introduction to a subject that no doubt will be discussed and debated now and well into the future.
Mr. Winograd and Mr. Hais contend that American politics cycle through change about every forty years and experience a profound realignment about once every eighty years. The authors believe that these changes are typically spurred by the ideological exhaustion of prior generations and the introduction of new technologies that enable new political constituencies to form. In my view, this is problematic: critics such as David R Mayhew have pointed out that cyclical theorists are more often wrong than right; worse, as a theoretical construct, the methodology tends to close off lines of inquiry into the underlying reasons why voter preferences may be realigning, such as changes in economic or social conditions.
Fortunately, Mr. Winograd and Mr. Hais serve up plenty of raw meat and provide insight into the Millennials that might help us form our own opinions about what the future might hold. The authors explain how blogging and peer-to-peer technologies are empowering "netroots" activism and providing alternatives to broadcast media; they go on to argue that political parties must shift from prevailing money-and-media models to decentralized organizational structures. We are shown some interesting case studies where individuals have used YouTube and MySpace to win local contests against great odds and upset the conventional wisdom. These sections of the book succeed brilliantly as they draw upon the author's decades of experience in the political arena to shed new light on how profoundly the process is changing and how American democracy might be reinvigorated.
Yet somehow, the light that Mr. Winograd and Mr. Hais shines on the Millennial generation itself appears to be diffused. For example, one must wonder if the large numbers of Millennials who currently suffer from deficient healthcare and educational services might be represented disproportionately among those who favor greater government spending; might not this constitute a cry of desperation rather than one of enlightened civility, as the authors of this book seem to suggest? Unfortunately, the author's insistence on rolling up the Millennials into a single, undifferentiated mass makes it impossible for us to know.
Compounding the problem is that the authors seem determined to write a palliative for the Democratic Party faithful that proposes to show how its policy positions will align neatly with Millennial concerns. Although a reasonable person might well agree with the authors on the wisdom of their proposals, is it not also quite plausible that a repackaging of Republican Party-style 'ownership society' proposals might serve as a marketable (if not credible) response to our current social, economic and environmental crises? Indeed, the survey data presented about the Millennial's overly optimistic material expectations suggests that this generation has been conditioned by unprecedented levels of corporate messaging; presumably this could make Millennials susceptible to corporate greenwashing campaigns, corporate welfare state solutions, and the like. Indeed, to the extent that the Obama and McCain campaigns have championed national health care policies that feature prominent roles for private insurance companies, we may well be witnessing a realignment of voter preferences that merely determines the methods by which the corporate control of our democracy is intensified. Put another way, the evidence presented suggests that the pending realignment, if it materializes, will be political but not radical.
In any case, the authors are to be congratulated for writing a stimulating book that helps us consider how major changes might well be in the offing. I recommend the book for everyone interested in political science and contemporary events.
 An important work May 8, 2008
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
Just as newspapers have shifted their primary emphasis from print to the Internet, so too has politics. The bottom-up dynamic, emblemized by user-generated content, is taking over in many spheres, and those who cling to old authoritarian top-down structures will become irrelevant.
There's more power in a user-generated video on youtube, produced at almost zero cost and gone viral, than in any traditional prepackaged million dollar TV ad campaign. Indeed, often the packaged claims are mercilessly pulled apart to great detriment to their makers by online hordes (witness Hillary's "3 AM" ad, or her claims of sniper fire) - and increasingly, the online hordes are the ones who are having the final word. (This also raises the specter of the digital divide, where only the plugged-in will recognize and understand the various waves of public opinion.)
A great move of democratization is well under way, and its pace is almost frightening. Print media can't keep up with the new newsflow. Even online news sites that do not encourage reader interactivity will wither. (These Amazon reviews were a trailblazer in creating the new interactive environment.)
This book argues two main points: that the upcoming generation has more in common with Democratic Party ideals than Republican, and that on top of that the Republicans have been late to recognize the seismic generationally- and technologically-driven shift beneath our feet.
This book will by no means be the final word on the subject. Both authors are committed Democrats, and though they strive to write without bias, it's a sure bet their theses will be answered by those on the other side of the fence. In the answering will develop a more circumspect, accurate picture - in a process mimicking the online refinement of opinion that the authors write about. Nonetheless this work lays an important foundation that the politically- and civic-minded of all persuasions would do very well to digest.
Read It! March 28, 2008
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
Unlike most books, this one more than lives up to the hype on its jacket. Morley Winograd and Michael Hais go well beyond generational theory to help us understand not only past critical turning points in American history, but also the crucial one we're about to live through.
This is not the political punditry of "talking heads" who merely spout trendy theories without analytical substance. Rather, it is a well researched and well written review of the factors that have helped shape the Millennial Generation (1983-2003) now coming of age, together with some insightful commentary on the impact this generation is likely to have on our country and our world. In its pages the authors present both the "whys" and the "hows" in a well organized and easy-to-read discourse.
"Millennial Makeover" is not just for political junkies. If you are a concerned citizen trying to wade through the political and social cross-currents of our country, particularly in this important presidential election year, you should read this book. It left this aging Baby Boomer surprised, enlightened, fearful, smiling and cautiously optimistic about our future.
"A republic, if you can keep it." That's what Benjamin Franklin reportedly said when asked at the close of the Constitutional Convention what type of government the Framers had fashioned. "Millennial Makeover" offers a fascinating look at how this emerging tech-savvy "civic" generation might do just that.
A Milestone February 29, 2008
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
When I heard that Morley had co-authored a new book I wondered what he was up to. I was part of the reinventing government team that Morley headed and respect him for his political insight and as a decent human being.
The book is a mile stone that shows where we are now. where we came from and where we are going. Not to often do you find a book on society and politics that is as informative and easy to read.
The the final chapters Rebuilding America's Civic Infrastructure and
Public Policy in a Millennial Era are jnspiring and are a great addition to public dialog. The comparison to our time and 1860 and 1932 is on the mark.
Now living in northern Arizona after 47 years in the DC area I can see a factor that I could not find in the book the relationship with the rapidly expanding world of nonprofits partcularly in the area of natural resource sustainability
|
|
|
