In the writings of Alvin and Heidi Toffler, they describe three waves of civilization. The initial state of
humanity was hunters and gatherers. The first wave of civilization that came through the world was the
agricultural revolution of 10,000 plus years ago. People suddenly planted grains and domesticated animals. They
settled in one place, being tied to the land. As these communities spread and thrived, people within them tended
to specialize more and more. There were farmers and herders and smiths, and there were some who specialized in the
defense and leadership of these communities. These last were the nobility, for a first wave society is primarily
a feudal society. There are many indications of a first wave society. Family structures tend to be
multi-generational patriarchies or matriarchies. Handcrafts are done not only for function, but also as arts. The
primary source of power in a first wave society is weapons, strength of arms, and violence.
The second wave was what we called the industrial revolution. Items were made en masse, and people left the
farms for the cities. The family broke off into the nuclear family component of parents and school age children.
Everything, including the people, had to be interchangeable. This put a lot of pressure on people to conform in
society. Life was reorganized around the factory schedule. Schools became little employee factories, stamping out
readers, writers, and calculators capable of being gainfully employed. Power now came through capital and
equipment rather than through force of arms. And that capital could always buy you more arms to leverage your
force better. The two political philosophies were a form of big business capitalism and communism or
socialism.
When the industrial revolution swept through, the old first wave societies did not just roll over without a
fight. The stresses that our own nation faced during the 1850’s and 1860’s was due to the clash of the industrial,
second wave North with the agrarian, first wave South. One of the issues throughout the 1800’s was that of a
tariff to protect our manufacturers. That tariff hurt the agrarian South by raising the price of manufactured
goods. On the other hand, it helped protect the markets of the manufacturers of the North. Not surprisingly, the
political parties of the time pretty much lined up along the wave fronts of the two civilizations. The Radical
Republicans were aligned with the tariffs and manufacturers and the industrial, second-wave North. The Democrats
were aligned with the old, agrarian, first-wave South. The Democrats were behind the curve in the developments of
civilization, and that lasted for over eighty years.
Franklin Roosevelt helped to update the Democratic Party by incorporating second-wave elements, like support for
organized labor. That helped put the two parties back on a more equal footing after the Republican domination
that occurred between 1860 and 1932.
That worked well for Democrats until the 1950’s when the third wave of civilization broke over the country. The
age of computers and information had come. More than fifty percent of the working population was involved in
white-collar management or service jobs. Information became more powerful than capital or mere military prowess.
The industrial paradigm started cracking, and with it the foundations of our society. Over the ensuing years, the
old standardization and conformity has been tossed aside, and with it has sprung a new craving for independence.
Visionary men like Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan helped change the Republican Party to a third-wave political
device. They melded elements of freedom that resonated with both the first-wavers and third-wavers to build
something new and strong.
The Democrats continue to represent Labor, as well as other disparate groups, many of which are second wave
constituencies. The Republicans have most of the computer professionals and other information workers. It is why
the Internet started as a more heavily conservative and libertarian, small government community. After a hundred
and fifty years, the Democrats are still behind the curve on keeping up with new events in civilization.
Given the increase in speed in developments of civilization, one wonders what the fourth wave will be. If it
was ten thousand years between the first and second wave, and it was three hundred years between the second and
third, it should be about time for a new trend to emerge. Whatever that wave of civilization might be, the one
thing that you can be sure of is that after it comes along, the Democratic party might finally catch up with the
third wave.
F. B. Knight is Curmudgeon-in-Residence at the Attila the Hun School of Management. He can be reached for questions
at
fbk@attilathehunschool.net.
