Lawrence Goodwyn > Quotes

“The problem that will doubtless interest future historians is not so much the presence, in the twentieth century, of mass political alienation, but the passivity with which the citizenry accepted that condition. It may well become known as the century of sophisticated deference.”
― Lawrence Goodwyn, The Populist Moment: A Short History of the Agrarian Revolt in America

“... another intellectual folk custom that contributes to the pervasiveness of American complacency: since the "system" passes the historical test as being generally progressive, a progressive evolution of democratic forms over time is assumed. Complementing this belief (the focus here remains upon the mainstream cultural presumptions of American society) is a generalized intuition concerning the relative ease with which democratic forms have come to exist and are maintained in America. Few central ideas about America have less historical basis of support than this one.”
― Lawrence Goodwyn, The Populist Moment: A Short History of the Agrarian Revolt in America

“The national experience is seen as both purposeful and generally progressive. The "system," though not without flaws, works. Lingering flaws will ultimately be diminished. Unarguably, this presumption is the conceptual centerpiece of that vast body of writing known as the literature of American history.”
― Lawrence Goodwyn, The Populist Moment: A Short History of the Agrarian Revolt in America

“It is one of the enduring ironies of history that established systems of hierarchy rarely find it necessary to rely on sensible defenses as an essential means of maintaining power.”
― Lawrence Goodwyn, The Populist Moment: A Short History of the Agrarian Revolt in America