The author of this book focuses especially on the questions raised in the highly polemical debates between conservatives and liberals concerning Ronald Reagan’s economic policies. He gives equal time to both sides, showing how liberals were wrong in their predictions of gloom, while conservatives continue to grant Reagan more credit and status than he deserves. The book aims to reveal how the failures of the Carter administration set the stage for Reagan’s success, describes how he united diverse conservative factions, and shows how Reagan’s personality affected his decision-making style. In examining the economic record, it explains how Reagan persuaded Congress to pass budget and tax cuts while funding a costly defence buildup, and it analyzes the construction of a policy regime that prolonged the growth phase of the business cycle by lowering the threat of inflation. It also provides insights into the Reagan administration’s responsibilty for the savings and loan disaster and tells how it dealt with trade imbalances. The political success of Reagan’s presidency, observes Sloan, can largely be attributed to the confined efforts of conservatives, pragmatists and public relations experts. Reagan was a popular anti-intellectual, a former actor who knew how to deliver his message in a way that pleased his audiences and who never allowed
the facts
to undermine his convictions. Sloan stresses that Reagan’s rhetoric functioned to keep conservatives loyal while masking pragmatic compromises. While Sloan suggests that the net effects of Reagan’s presidency were positive, he is not uncritical. He contends that Reagan’s ridicule of attempts to promote social justice ultimately diminish his image as a great moral leader. He also observes that effective government - such as relying on the Federal Reserve to control inflation - was an essential component in Reagan’s leadership, thus contradicting the anti-government stance of many conservatives. Sloan concludes that Reagan’s impact, as opposed to his rhetoric, was not to displace liberalism but to weld conservatism to it, and that neither the era of big government nor the need for effective national public policies is over.