The Moral Center: How We Can Reclaim Our Country from Die-Hard Extremists, Rogue Corporations, Hollywood Hacks, and Pretend Patriots [Hardcover]

David Callahan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 11, 2006

Nothing’s the matter with Kansas: Americans voting their values are responding to a real moral crisis. And in this forceful follow-up to The Cheating Culture, David Callahan argues that the problems for most Americans are not abortion and gay marriage but rather issues that neither party is addressing—the selfishness that is careening out of control, the effect of our violent and consumerist culture on children, and our lack of a greater purpose. As Republicans veer into zealotry, liberals can find common ground with the moderate majority. But to alleviate the moral anxieties that drove GOP electoral victories they need a powerful new vision.

 

In The Moral Center, Callahan articulates that vision and offers an escape from the dead-end culture war. With insights garnered from in-depth research and interviews, he examines some of our most polarized conflicts and presents unexpected solutions that lay out a new road map to the American center.



 



 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After discussing the widespread willingness of Americans to cut ethical corners in The Cheating Culture, Callahan probes deeper, to get at the underlying causes of the nation's moral anxiety, and winds up blaming the free-market economy. The unchecked pursuit of self-interest, he argues, has led to everything from the rise in white-collar crime to the spread of mass media content that brazenly rejects traditional values. Callahan's thesis walks a tightrope—for all his talk of "critiquing the moral downsides of capitalism," he remains a firm believer in the current governmental framework and socialism never rears its head. In seeking an end to the culture wars, he repeatedly calls upon liberals to tighten up their game; Democrats need to stop questioning the American dream, place more stock in personal responsibility and get tough with Hollywood donors. Conservatives, by contrast, are largely written off as too set in their ways to change, despite his repeated efforts to make them see the light. Unwilling to leave this as just a hypothetical argument, Callahan offers concrete steps toward achieving economic equality, from putting more money into Social Security to increasing benefits for veterans. Building on his initial success, his plainspoken, moderate stance is likely to gain traction with politically minded readers. (Sept.)
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From Booklist

Callahan, cofounder of the public-policy center Demos, describes a moral angst felt by many Americans regardless of religious beliefs or political ideals, a feeling that we are so obsessed with being good consumers we have lost a sense of what it means to be good citizens. The nation's rise in prosperity has been accompanied by a rise in greed, materialism, and heartlessness. Callahan credits conservatives with a focus on morals but chides them for refusing to confront the free-market economy that is behind the moral decline. He takes liberals to task for refusing to accept responsibility for emphasizing individualism, leading to me-first materialism. But more important than the rift between traditionalists and modernists is the rift between the Cares and the Care-Nots. He devotes separate chapters to seven areas: family, sex, media, crime, work, poverty, and patriotism, examining how self-interest has eroded moral values in each area and how to achieve balance between freedom and responsibility. Readers of all political viewpoints will find this book a reasoned and balanced appeal. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; First edition edition (September 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151011516
• ISBN-13: 978-0151011513
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,348,425 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "A liberal with a new emphasis on old values.", September 17, 2006

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Moral Center: How We Can Reclaim Our Country from Die-Hard Extremists, Rogue Corporations, Hollywood Hacks, and Pretend Patriots (Hardcover)

The author addresses a difficult theme, couched as it is in the entrenched rhetoric of today's politics, Conservative, Democrat, right and left. Yet at the heart of this argument is a call to return to the traditional values that are inclusive rather than exclusive. While the right champions a return to religion and family values, the left is mired in a definition that fails to bring them into the conversation. And at the heart of all is the free market, the cornerstone of personal liberty, the success of which depends upon the pursuit of self-interest. The question posed: are traditional values a match for unfettered capitalism?

Liberals have morphed into the ubiquitous "me generation" and social responsibility, although an intended consequence of the equation, is left languishing by the road in a rush of consumerism. The result is a proliferation of Care-Not's (as opposed to Cares), the Cares unable to make themselves heard, suffering a pervasive moral anxiety that has no apparent remedy.

Repeatedly offering a narrow interpretation of the problem, Democrats struggle to articulate a moral solution. As middle class insecurity grows with international competition, technology and corporations siphoning off the future, the economy must be dire for people to respond to this threat. At the same time, purchasing items at incredibly low prices has become pervasive, even though these prices are the result of global economics. We come to the premise of the book: Democrats or a new Third party can submit a moral agenda to restore America's values and politics. To this end, the following chapters address family, sex, media, crime, work, poverty and patriotism, establishing "a workable balance between freedom and responsibility."

The dynamic of the culture wars, tradition vs. modernism, misses the point in the current debate, where the real culprit is the free market. Any change in this culture that confronts the pertinent issues must be synonymous with real values for Americans, those we readily embrace, rather than the pandering of extreme ideologies. In essence, the author is asking us to put aside our differences, responding to the current divisiveness with an appreciation for the spirit of change for the better good. Neither party comes off well, the Democrats inarticulate, stuck in past decades of grandeur, the Republicans riding a wave of popularity with the marriage of evangelical fervor and a free market unhindered by social responsibility. A fine idea and well put, but not likely to be heard by either party in the current climate. Luan Gaines/ 2006.

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Ideas, October 14, 2010

By 

Richard B. Wayne "Mindhiker" (DeSoto, TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Moral Center: How Progressives Can Unite America Around Our Shared Values (Paperback)

I read this book as part of a small, progressive book club in Texas. There are some really good ideas in this book that helped me to integrate some of my thinking. For example, the way money is essentially running the show now in this country. For example, how progressives and conservatives really have more in common than not in common.

4.0 out of 5 stars Food for thought..., July 24, 2010

By 

Blaze - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Moral Center: How Progressives Can Unite America Around Our Shared Values (Paperback)

For Callahan, self-interest is the key word. Excessive self-interest is what is ailing us - in business, government, and yes, even in the American family. And he makes a compelling case. Focusing on some alarming trends and statistics (in divorce, media violence, education, white-collar crime, increased aggression in children, etc. ) he argues that these issues should compel us all to meet in the middle, work on solutions, and to stop putting so much time, money, and energy into age-old cultural divides that inhibit the country from moving forward on issues that affect Americans, especially American families, today. He argues that in some cases old solutions are proving not to be working.

Callahan's writing reflects thoughtfulness and civic concern. Scratch the subtitle of the book and the quasi-guidebook-for-liberals tone interjected throughout, and this book could have reached a wider audience who are seriously concerned about some of the sociological ills of the day. The author provides plenty of food for thought.