The core tenets of the “Reagan Revolution,” arguably, were threefold: the reorientation of conservatism via a synthesis of grassroots traditional social values with conventional Republican goals of small government and low taxes; the reduction in scale of the regulatory state and effort to return power to states and localities; the introduction of a hyper-aggressive approach toward the Soviet Union and international communism intended to push the USSR to the brink of collapse. In the modern day, Reagan and his movement are generally considered to be among the most successful in modern American politics. Upon a closer examination of the readings for this lesson, however, to what extent would you regard the Reagan Revolution a success or failure? Was there more “success” or “failure” from tenet to tenet? Support your argument with specific examples and evidence.
