The 1970s were a crucial decade in the resurgence of the American right, and one of the distinguishing features of this period was the complacency of the radical and centre left.
The long standing desire to undo the New Deal had been an article of faith among the magnates and intellectuals who established right wing think tanks like the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation.
These were characters who were not only interested in the deregulation of industry and sweeping tax cuts, but who were far more ideological in their thinking. They were influenced by Friedrich Von Hayek and other Mont Pelerin Society luminaries and believed that the growth in the size of the state and its ability to tax would lead eventually to tyranny.
Here is this week’s podcast about the origins of this intellectual revolt and the murky sources of its funding.
Explaining History Podcast 