Decades (conservative, moderate, or liberal)

[tallguy23]

How would you categorize each decade in modern America based on culture, economics, politics, etc.

My picks:

1950s: Conservative
1960s: Liberal
1970s: Moderate (liberal)
1980s: Conservative
1990s: Moderate (liberal)
2000: Moderate (conservative)
2010s: Liberal

[Indy Texas]

Why do people think the 1950s was such a conservative time?

If you tried to propose the tax rates and labor laws from that era today, you'd be called a communist.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

The 2000s were probably the most conservative decade in America's history.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

And where do people get the idea that the '90s were so liberal?

[H. Ross Peron]

1950s: Moderate
1960s: Liberal
1970s: Conservative
1980s: Conservative
1990s: Moderate
2000s: Conservative
2010s: Moderate (thus far)

[Beet]

1950s- right
1960s- left
1970s- right
1980s- right
1990s- right
2000s- right
2010s- too soon to say

[RR1997]

1950s: Lean Conservative
1960s: Liberal
1970s: Lean Conservative
1980s: Conservative
1990s: By far the most conservative decade out of all the decades since the 50's.
2000s: Conservative
2010s: Too soon to say

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

And where do people get the idea that the '90s were so liberal?

Most people pay no attention to the actual issues, which is why 3rd wayer Hillary has so much support.

[Del Tachi]

1920s:  Moderate
1930s:  Liberal
1940s:  Liberal
1950s:  Moderate
1960s:  Liberal
1970s:  Moderate
1980s:  Conservative
1990s:  Moderate
2000s:  Moderate
2010s:  Liberal

[DC Al Fine]

Why do people think the 1950s was such a conservative time?

If you tried to propose the tax rates and labor laws from that era today, you'd be called a communist.

Indeed. Liberals want to work in the 1950's. Conservatives want to go home there.

[Supersonic]

1950s: Conservative
1960s: Liberal
1970s: Liberal
1980s: Conservative
1990s: Moderate, tilt Conservative
2000s: Moderate
2010s: Moderate, tilt Conservative

[TDAS04]

1920s:  Conservative
1930s:  Liberal
1940s:  Moderate
1950s:  Conservative
1960s:  Liberal
1970s:  Liberal
1980s:  Conservative
1990s:  Moderate
2000s:  Conservative
2010s:  Moderate so far

[ElectionsGuy]

1920's - Conservative
30's - Liberal
40's - Moderate
50's - Moderate
60's - Liberal
70's - Moderate
80's - Conservative
90's - Moderate
2000's - Moderate

[AggregateDemand]

Why do people think the 1950s was such a conservative time?

If you tried to propose the tax rates and labor laws from that era today, you'd be called a communist.

The marginal tax rates are meaningless, and the 1950s was the era before the Great Society. The only liberal part of the 1950s, imo, was the incestuous relationship between government and corporations, which was much more comprehensive than corporate welfare or inequitable tax loopholes.

[Free Bird]

And where do people get the idea that the '90s were so liberal?

Most people pay no attention to the actual issues, which is why 3rd wayer Hillary has so much support.

Out of nostalgia?

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

I'm not sure why people think the 1970s were so conservative. Nixon wasn't a conservative, Ford wasn't a conservative, and Carter wasn't a conservative. And with the exception of the 1978 election, there wasn't much GOP success to be had anywhere. Pop culture seemed pretty liberal too, from the Studio 54 to Charlie's Angels to Three's Company. Politically, we almost had the ERA, we got expansions in the Clean Air Act and the launch of modern day environmentalism, relations with China, and arms treaties with the USSR.

[tallguy23]

And where do people get the idea that the '90s were so liberal?

Economically/politically it might not have been. Culturally, it was fairly liberal starting in the late 90's.

This was the decade where Ellen and Will & Grace became huge TV shows and contributed to our current gay rights movement.

[tallguy23]

The 2000s were probably the most conservative decade in America's history.

In some ways, yes. I graduated high school in the 2000s and it's insane how socially conservative things were. Compared to today, people were way more anti-gay and super puritanical about sex ed.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

It used to be that people talked about the '50s as being very puritanical and paranoid (the Red Scare and stuff). Soon, people will be talking about the 2000s the same way.

[DC Al Fine]

I'm not sure why people think the 1970s were so conservative. Nixon wasn't a conservative, Ford wasn't a conservative, and Carter wasn't a conservative. And with the exception of the 1978 election, there wasn't much GOP success to be had anywhere. Pop culture seemed pretty liberal too, from the Studio 54 to Charlie's Angels to Three's Company. Politically, we almost had the ERA, we got expansions in the Clean Air Act and the launch of modern day environmentalism, relations with China, and arms treaties with the USSR.

I think that's when the bloom started coming off the 60's rose. People interpret "less liberal" as conservative.

[Lief 🗽]

The 1970s were a hard-right backlash against the leftism of the 1960s (though the backlash had already begun by 1968). It's arguably the most conservative decade, though the fallout from Watergate masked that.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I'm not sure why people think the 1970s were so conservative. Nixon wasn't a conservative, Ford wasn't a conservative, and Carter wasn't a conservative. And with the exception of the 1978 election, there wasn't much GOP success to be had anywhere. Pop culture seemed pretty liberal too, from the Studio 54 to Charlie's Angels to Three's Company. Politically, we almost had the ERA, we got expansions in the Clean Air Act and the launch of modern day environmentalism, relations with China, and arms treaties with the USSR.

Probably due to Nixon's landslide re-election--a candidate losing for being too liberal was something new in the post-New Deal era--along with the beginning of the resurgence of conservative Republicanism, Carter being probably the most right-wing Democratic president since before the 30's, and other thing related to those phenomena. While left-wing activism was at its peak, the conservative response to it occupied the White House, and Carter was no New Deal labor liberal. That said, the actions of the Nixon administration, ironically, are one of the key points to the 70's being a liberal decade. He was a great example both of the electoral opposition to the perceived far left, and to the lack of any real direction for a conservative President to go in.

EDIT: Beaten by Lief.

[Beet]

Obviously the 70s were far left by today's standards. I put right because the world shifted right by 1980 compared to 1970. Edit: just realized this was domestic politics. In that case, probably moderate. But on a global scale definitely right.

[Goldwater]

Excluding the current decade, I think that a left-right scale would look something like this:

1960s>1950s>1970s>1990s>2000s>1980s

It's worth noting that in general I placed more weight on "economic issues" than "social issues". For example, the 90s ware clearly more liberal than the 50s on issues like race and gay rights, but I placed them more to the right because of things like tax rates and welfare reform.

[Mordecai]

1950s: Liberal
1960s: Liberal
1970s: Moderate
1980s: Conservative
1990s: Conservative
2000s: Conservative
2010s: Conservative