Writing a history inevitably involves a long sequence of judgments by the author. From an infinite series of events, the author must decide which ones are important and how they should be tied together. The author must also decide how the events actually transpired, based on his or her assessment of which accounts are accurate and which ones should be largely dismissed.

Needless to say, I have made many such decisions in writing this book. The introduction should leave little doubt as to what I consider the key thread running through the history of the United States over the last quarter century. Beginning with the Reagan administration, the United States took a sharp turn away from a path that it had followed in the post–World War II era. Prior to the election of Ronald Reagan, the United States could be seen as following the welfare states of Western Europe in building up a set of institutional supports that ensured most of the population a decent standard of living. These supports included government programs that guaranteed families minimum levels of income, health care, and other basic needs. However, even more important was the shaping of the market in ways that ensured that most of the workforce would benefit from economy-wide increases in productivity.

This pattern was reversed following the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. The Reagan administration weakened or eliminated government programs intended to provide income security.