Abstract

"The Effluent Society: Qualitative Liberalism and the Shaping of the Clean Air Act"

Warren Dennis, Boston University (wdennis@bu.edu)

In the 1960s, a new perspective on liberalism gained traction among many Democrats and Republicans: qualitative liberalism. The new form of liberalism continued to fulfill the promise of economic security while adding quality of life as an essential promise of citizenry. Popularized by liberal thinkers like John Kenneth Galbraith and politicians ranging from John F. Kennedy to Edmund Muskie, qualitative liberalism became most pronounced in dealing with environmental and occupational health issues, and these efforts became coded as masculine and key to ensuring the male-breadwinner fantasy of economic and individual security. Concerned about being viewed as “soft on pollution,” leaders from both parties sought to tackle environmental harms with tough and effective regulations, framing them as integral to maintaining the economic vitality of the nation and its citizens. Following the energy shocks and economic restructuring of the seventies, however, these policies were reframed as promoting weakness and scarcity, engendering a threat to job security rather than ensuring job safety. In this presentation, I will use the Clean Air Act and its amendments to demonstrate how public and environmental health concerns shifted from priorities to hindrances in shaping air quality regulations.