Jonathan Franzen and the Fear of the '90s

It's easy to see why much of American culture is currently in the thrall of '90s revivalism (beyond the standard cycle of generational nostalgia): compared to the 21st-century, the '90s seem like a time of peace and posterity.  After all, it was post-Cold War and pre-9/11; America was the world's sole, undisputed super-power; we were at peace with every major nation; our wars were minor and the stakes (for us at least) were low; the economy was robust, the middle-class large, the stock m...