A Dream Deferred: America's Discontent and the Search for a New Democratic Ideal [Paperback]

Philip Slater (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 1992

America's Discontent and the Search for a New Democratic Ideal. Convincingly demonstrates that democratic processes, however messy and confusing, ultimately yield the most intelligent and flexible responses to a complex world.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

For roughly 5000 years, says Slater, the world's dominant sociopolitical system (or "megaculture") has been authoritarian in nature, but today a democratic model is emerging. Lamentably, the United States, once the vanguard of the democratic movement, has been backsliding while the rest of the world struggles to cast off its chains. All segments of our society--business, government, education, religion, the "authority-worshipping" media--seem to be infected with the restrictive attitudes of the past. Slater, whose Pursuit of Loneliness ( LJ 3/1/70) became a counterculture classic, writes with the breezy pedantry of a pundit at a bull session; much of his essay is wordy and melodramatic. Slater's reliance on distorting statements to support his argument makes it difficult for the reader to take him seriously. Still, there may be demand from fans of his previous books.
-Kenneth F. Kister, Tampa, Fla.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Slater has a fascinating premise: All the authoritarian regimes the world has seen in the past five thousand years were just a difficult phase in civilization's inevitable evolution to democracy. Political Darwinism with a twist, his theory holds that democracy is inevitable not because it is just or good, but because it is the most efficient way of ordering advanced, complex societies. Why we had to endure 5,000 years of pharaohs, emperors and fiihrers is a question he chooses not to address. Instead, Slater concentrates on describing in detail the seemingly paradoxical growth in America of "authoritarian barriers that have sprung up like tumors on the body politic" - just as the rest of the world seems to be growing more democratic. Expanding on the themes of his 7-be Pursuit of Loneliness, the 1971 classic that has sold over 500,000 copies, Slater paints a convincingly bleak picture of America's democratic failings. Unfortunately, he concludes with only the vaguest suggestions for how we might begin to chart a new, democratic course. Still, A Dream Deferred is sure to appeal to Slater's many fans off and, especially, on campus. -- From Independent Publisher --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (September 30, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807043052
• ISBN-13: 978-0807043059
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,459,807 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must if you care about Democracy, May 3, 2001

By 

LUIS I. NAVA (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Dream Deferred: America's Discontent and the Search for a New Democratic Ideal (Paperback)

I have read this book several times and I find it truly insightful, just as IN PURSUIT OF LONELINESS.

If you are in search of understanding, this book is a must.

But if you are in search of improving our society through Democracy, you will find in this book what Democracy should be all about.

But don't just read this book, put in action the new gained knowledge and share it with the world.

Best of life to all of you.

Luis Ignacio Nava

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Profound, far reaching, thoughtful, May 2, 2009

By 

n brown "n brown" (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Dream Deferred: America's Discontent and the Search for a New Democratic Ideal (Paperback)

What an insightful book about how authoritarian works and how democracy can be mobilized against it. Absolutely as relevant today as in the early 1990s when it was published. In fact, where is he now to guide us into this new era? We need this wisdom! This is a thought-provoking must-read.