The Greening of America by Charles A. Reich
"The Greening of America," authored by Charles A. Reich, is a thought-provoking examination of the evolving consciousness in American society during the 1970s. Reich delineates three distinct types of consciousness: Consciousness I reflects the rugged individualism of early American pioneers, while Consciousness II emerges as a response to the excesses of the Gilded Age, emphasizing public good over individual freedom. In stark contrast, Reich identifies Consciousness III as a burgeoning awareness among youth that eschews materialism in favor of personal freedom and self-expression, valuing creativity, spirituality, and environmental consciousness.
Reich critiques the military-industrial complex and the corporate state, arguing that they have led to a depersonalized society where individuals are trapped in a "schizophrenic" existence of work and consumption. He posits that this new consciousness among the youth could spark a revolutionary change, characterized by peaceful empowerment rather than violent upheaval. This shift encompasses a wide range of cultural movements, including the rise of rock music, sexual liberation, and environmental activism, reflecting a profound transformation in political and social sensibilities. Ultimately, Reich's ideas resonate with the broader themes of individual empowerment and societal change, profoundly influencing the landscape of American culture and politics during the era and beyond.
The Greening of America by Charles A. Reich
Identification A best-selling book that explained the generation gap
Date Published in 1970
Author Charles A. Reich
The Greening of America: How the Youth Revolution Is Trying to Make America Livable set the terms for the debate in the United States over the new and, at times, controversial values of many young people. It predicted revolutions based on “people power,” not armed confrontations.
Key Figures
Charles A. Reich (1928- )
In one of the most widely discussed books of its kind during the 1970’s, Yale law professor Charles A. Reich championed the new consciousness of rebellious youth. He attacked the military-industrial complex and advocated rock music, sexual liberation, civil rights, war protests, psychedelic drugs, and environmentalism.
In his book, Reich argues that one’s consciousness is the overall configuration of one’s attitude toward and perception of experience. American history has seen three kinds of consciousness. Consciousness I, as Reich calls it, refers to the rugged individualism found among early pioneers, entrepreneurs, and family farmers, all of whom engaged in relatively unfettered competition under conditions of economic scarcity before the twentieth century. Consciousness II grew as a reaction against robber barons of the Gilded Age, some of whom amassed personal fortunes greater than the national treasury. The public good was valued above individual freedom. Personal income was taxed for the first time, businesses were regulated by government, and corporations gained enormous economic and political power. Since constitutional restraints on government’s interference with individual freedom do not apply to private employers, citizens can be manipulated as workers to make low-cost products, which they as consumers then buy at a price high enough to give corporations more profits and power. With an ethic based on materialistic success, the worker-consumer thus lives a “schizophrenic” life, working under repressive regimentation, then seeking satisfaction in pricey pleasures. In the name of growth and progress, this corporate state depersonalizes life, marginalizes spirituality, and ruins environments to extract natural resources.
Reich found among youth alienated from this materialism a superior Consciousness III, which rejects subordinating self to system and places a higher value on individual freedom, self-direction, the pursuit of happiness through free forms of intellectual and sexual expression, the enjoyment of music and art, and contemplation, sometimes facilitated by drugs.
Impact
Charles Reich believed that Consciousness III would produce a new kind of revolution, based not on violent uprisings but on empowering people to adopt unconventional lifestyles. As he explained, the era’s fascination with free love, drugs, and rock music led to a broad transformation of political and social sensibilities, most notably in developments such as no-fault divorce, the antiwar movement, clemency for draft dodgers, the rise of consumerism and the environmental movement, and the augmented role of entertainment in American life. Reich’s kind of people power influenced world politics during the 1970’s and in ensuing decades.
Bibliography
Braunstein, Peter, and Michael William Doyle, eds. Imagine Nation: The American Counterculture of the 1960’s and ’70’s. New York: Routledge, 2001.
Nobile, Philip, ed. The Con III Controversy: The Critics Look at “The Greening of America.” New York: Pocket Books, 1971.
Reich, Charles A. The Sorcerer of Bolinas Reef. New York: Random House, 1976.