The New Progressive Era: Toward a Fair and Deliberative Democracy [Paperback]

Peter Levine (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0847695743 | ISBN-13: 978-0847695744 | Publication Date: December 22, 1999

A century ago, Americans launched a period of civic renewal and political reform. Today, amid deep dissatisfaction with our major institutions, there are signs that a new movement may revive the spirit of the original Progressive Era. Peter Levine draws inspiration from the great Progressive leader Robert M. La Follete, Sr., and his circle, which included John Dewey, Jane Addams, and Louis Brandeis. He discusses the shortcomings of this group as well as their successes, but he argues that their ideal of a fair and deliberative democracy is right for our time. Combining their philosophy and experience with the best contemporary proposals, Levine advocates campaign finance reform, an entirely different approach to regulation, new styles of journalism and civic education, and fundamental changes in the tax system. Combining philosophical arguments, historical background, empirical data, and concrete proposals, The New Progressive Era offers todayOs most comprehensive plan for civic renewal and political reform.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Peter Levine's new book represents an important new voice in our national deliberations about how to revitalize American democracy. It is a thorough, thoughtful account of the contemporary relevance of the ideas and innovations of the Progressive Era and a persuasive case for a new progressive agenda in American politics. (Robert D. Putnam )

The author is to be lauded for his scope and positive view of troublesome issues in the U.S. Useful for undergraduate and general library collections. (Choice )

Nevertheless, some of these books are useful. Peter Levine's The New Progressive Era makes a good go of it. It's a readable and thoughtful argument. (The American Prospect )

Peter Levine's The New Progressive Era is a readable and thoughtful argument. (The American Prospect )

A serious attempt to apply a philosophically coherent position to some of our most important political problems. (H-Net )

Some books you read and put aside. Others you send to friends; this is one of those books. Peter Levine brings a rich historical and philosophical perspective to an immediate and practical question: What is going to be the effect of all the effort that has gone into civic renewal in the last decade? What it will take to make democracy work as it should will be an especially pressing issue in the 2000 elections. Americans are already frustrated by a political system where money, rather than people, seems to do the voting. This book speaks to everyone from journalists to foundation executives to teachers to members of civic organizations to all citizens. Don't miss reading it. (David Mathews, )

About the Author

Peter Levine is research scholar at the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (December 22, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847695743
• ISBN-13: 978-0847695744
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,087,372 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Peter Levine (www.peterlevine.ws) is Director of CIRCLE, The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement and Research director of Tufts University's Jonathan Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service. Levine graduated from Yale in 1989 with a degree in philosophy. He studied philosophy at Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship, receiving his doctorate in 1992. From 1991 until 1993, he was a research associate at Common Cause. In the late 1990s, he was Deputy Director of the National Commission on Civic Renewal. Levine is the author of Reforming the Humanities (in press), The Future of Democracy: Developing the Next Generation of American Citizens (2007), three other scholarly books on philosophy and politics, and a novel. He also co-edited The Deliberative Democracy Handbook (2006) with John Gastil and Engaging Young People in Civic Life (2009) with Jim Youniss and co-organized the writing of The Civic Mission of Schools, a report released by Carnegie Corporation of New York and CIRCLE in 2003 (www.civicmissionofschools.org). He has served on the boards or steering committees of AmericaSpeaks, Streetlaw, the Newspaper Association of America Foundation, the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, the Kettering Foundation, the American Bar Association Committee's for Public Education, the Paul J. Aicher Foundation, and the Deliberative Democracy Consortium.