Paradise Lost
Peter Schrag presents the ills of California?fs current politics in an angry and persuasive tone. He says California used to be ?gboth model and magnet for the nation—in its economic opportunities, its social outlook, and its high-quality public services and institutes?h; however, California started to fade after the passage of Proposition 13, the initiative of tax limits (7). Schrag?fs work clearly shows what is the problem in today?fs California, and it is easy to understand even for those who have little knowledge of politics. By focusing on issues of ?gneopopulism?h which is easy to find in California?fs diversity, he succeeds in giving his readers the sense of crisis not only about California?fs politics, but also the national wide politics because California is the place ?gwhere the new American society is first coming into full view?h (23). Schrag says, about California politics, that:For nearly a generation, there has been increasing focus among scholars, politicians, and journalists on the growing gaps in California—ethic, social, economic—between those who exercise political power and the larger population, and particularly those who are the most immediate users of its public services. What h
Schrag divides his project into five sections. The middle sections, ?gThe Spirit of 13,?h and ?gMarch of the Plebiscites,?h in which he carefully discusses each important measure in the last two decades, show why so many issues rose. In the first section, ?gGolden Moment,?h Schrag describes ?gCalifornia?fs heyday of post-World War ‡U optimism?h and how it crumbled. Citations from magazines prove that California was a really paradise even from the nationwide view. Schrag also notices that the demographic change deeply relates to California?fs politics in the last two decades. The Watts riots, he tells us, was a reminder for ?gmillions of new Californians?h and ?ga powerful signal that, for all its sunshine and beauty, this new and fragile place provided no guarantee against the dark and the demonic in American life?h (46). In the next section, ?gMarch of the Plebiscites,?h Schrag focuses on ?gbroader implication of California?fs orgy of plebiscites?h and discusses measure after the passage of Proposition 13. He says that the voters have approved many initiatives ?gan average of four in each two-year election cycle?h after Proposition 13 passed (194). What becomes clear in this chapter is that the plebiscitary process is problem in California. Most voters and a large portion of media pay attention not on the government and the social welfare, but on their individual benefits. Much amount of money was spent on each measure, and supporters and opponents vehemently argued by using the mass media. Schrag says that the state government of California became a ?gmedia-based?h government. It is clear that California had anti-
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Approximate Word count = 1104
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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