Rendered fragile by Vietnam, by affirmative action and school busing, by the massive desertion of southern whites from the Democratic Party, and by the drifting away of significant numbers of the liberal intelligentsia, the coalition finally shattered in the 1970s on the shoals of economic recession and a growing demoralization in the American polity. In part, the demoralization had to do with expectations raised too high by the rapidity of positive advances. It arose, too, from the strain of having to cope with the rapidity of the changes. The challenges of the post–World War II revolutions aroused deep resentment in many Americans for whom unquestioning acceptance of received social conventions made life simple and satisfying. Finally, Americans had to cope with the emergence of many serious unintended consequences. The widening of the income gap when great numbers of well-to-do married women entered a relatively inelastic job market was one. The resentment of the unsubsidized working poor over the money and medical benefits granted to the unemployed was another. The unanticipated disaster of the engagement in Vietnam and its domestic effects was, of course, another.

Discontent developed into a general sense that nothing seemed to be working as it should. By the late sixties, Americans began to experience a dramatic swing in mood from the exuberant optimism of the young to the tired pessimism of the jaded. It may best be described as the “failure syndrome.”

The word “failure” began to appear in print and in conversation with remarkable frequency.