History and the Pendulum: An Application of the Schlesinger Theory of American Politics to Twentieth-Century Mexico

Abstract

Beginning with the Greeks Parmenides, Errpodocles and Polybius, continuing through unknown Mayan theologians, to the works of Vico and Hegel, cyclical theories are found throughout the historiographical canon. The tradition of cyclical history has continued into the twentieth century with the works of Oswald Spengler, Arnold Toynbee, and Jose Ortega y Gasset, who have written in sweeping terms that cover the rise and fall of errpires and generations over many years. The appeal of such theories is that they divide history into orderly quantities, making it easier to understand and teach. Nevertheless, methodological problems inherent in verifying the presence of cyclical patterns call into question the validity of cyclical theories. . . . Arthur M. Schlesinger and Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. narrowed cyclical history to deal with a specific country: the United States. Arthur Schlesinger first set forth his cyclical theory of United States history in 1924, and more recently his son, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., updated it in his 1986 book The C.ycles of American History. The Schlesingers' cyclical theory stands alone as the cyclical theory of United States history. [From introductory section]