Haves Without Have-Nots: Essays for the 21st Century on Democracy and Socialism [Hardcover]

Mortimer Jerome Adler (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In six didactic essays dedicated to Mikhail Gorbachev, popular philosopher Adler ( Truth in Religion ) examines the spread of capitalism-based constitutional democracy along with the rise of totalitarian communism and its subsequent fall-- due, he avers, to a failure to achieve true economic socialism. Two of these broad-ranging essays, derived from lectures and seminars held at the Aspen Institute of Philosophical Research (headed by the author), contrast the strict constructionism of Judge Robert Bork with Lincoln's philosophy of "unalienable rights" for all, which in Adler's view should include economic rights. Adler concludes, perhaps prematurely, that with the end of conflict between the two systems, democracy--embodying private-property capitalism combined with legislated welfare provisions-- will prevail on a global scale.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

While diverse, these six essays by the popular philosopher share a unifying theme: the merger of capitalism and socialism in a new democratic world society. Arguing that we are creating a society free of the "have-nots," Adler, author of Intellect: Mind Over Matter ( LJ 2/15/90) and Truth in Religion ( LJ 10/1/90), admirably analyzes the importance of liberal education for citizenship, offers useful criticism of Robert Bork's strict constructionism, praises Lincoln's stance on human (natural) rights, evaluates recent events in Eastern Europe, and provides a trenchant critique of the existentialist misunderstandings about human nature. Yet, Adler's essays are uneven in quality, and his treatment of socialism distorts the meaning and history of that political philosophy. Still, recommended for general and public philosophy collections.
- Gordon Tolle, South Dakota State Univ., Brookings
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 337 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan Pub Co; 1St Edition edition (April 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0025005618
• ISBN-13: 978-0025005617
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #352,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mortimer Jerome Adler (December 28, 1902 - June 28, 2001) was an American philosopher, educator, and popular author. As a philosopher he worked within the Aristotelian and Thomistic traditions. He lived for the longest stretches in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and San Mateo. He worked for Columbia University, the University of Chicago, Encyclopædia Britannica, and Adler's own Institute for Philosophical Research. Adler was married twice and had four children.