Reason: WHY LIBERALS WILL WIN THE BATTLE FOR AMERICA [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Robert B. Reich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 2004

REASON is a passionate and urgent statement about liberalism: what it is, the measure of its importance for America, and how it can return to the forefront of American politics. Reich sees the radical conservatism that has taken over the public agenda---the desire to fight unilateral "preemptive" wars, to stifle dissent and restrict civil liberties, to shower the rich with tax breaks and cut social services---as dangerous for both America and the world. He argues convincingly that the tenets of the liberal tradition must be a part of our national governance. He makes clear that radical conservatives have ascended in part because of an efficient infrastructure and a political organization driven by big money, and shock troops of mediagenic personalities. He explains how liberals can begin to re-ascend the political ladder by reclaiming the courage of their convictions, and finding powerfully effective ways to minimize the abuse of wealth and power in our political system.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Onto 2004's already crowded political non-fiction bookshelf, comes Reason by former Clinton administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich. It's a call to arms for liberals and progressives against what Reich terms the "Radcons", radical conservatives who combine the aggressive "neoconservative" foreign policy of Richard Perle and Robert Kagan with an insistence on interfering with private morality, all the while eliminating social safety nets. At times, it seems like Reich is trying to have it both ways: he condemns the Radcons for being judgmental and demonizing those with whom they disagree but, in the process, he often does some demonizing of his own in his summarization of their philosophies. Reich's arguments are most persuasive when he takes the approach of the Radcons but turns them around. Yes, he says, morality is crucial to the survival and prosperity of the United States, but instead of worrying about what people do in their own bedrooms, we should focus on public morality, especially as it pertains to overpaid CEOs, corrupt corporations, and the government's tacit approval of them. Despite his long history with the Democrats, or perhaps because of it, Reich saves some of his most pointed criticisms for his own party. He assails the Democrats for ceding the ongoing electoral struggle to the Republicans (and the Radcons, naturally). It's stupid, says Reich, to pursue a centrist approach to capturing the voting blocs necessary to achieve victory in the White House or congress because there is actually no such thing as centrism. Instead, there is a shift in the political dialogue as the right tacks further rightward and drags victory-hungry Democrats with it, thus alienating and ultimately disenfranchising the substantial liberal electorate. Reich ultimately sees good news for liberals on the horizon, however. While he thinks millions of Americans are fed up with the overly cautious Democratic Party that won't stand up for it's progressive principals, they are even wearier of the Radcons and "their intolerance, their mean-spiritedness, their moral righteousness, and their arrogance toward the rest of the world." --John Moe --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Today's conservatives ("Radcons") are reckless, vituperative extremists, deeply at odds with the caution and civility of traditional conservatives like Edmund Burke, argues Reich (Locked in the Cabinet), Clinton's first secretary of labor. Liberals, he asserts, remain squarely in the tradition of Jefferson and FDR, not (as Radcons allege) the late '60s New Left. Yet liberals have ceded certain issues and qualities to Radcons that they should take back. Moral outrage is one: "There is moral rot in America, but it's not found in the private behavior of ordinary people. It's located in the public behavior of people at or near the top." Quoting liberally from conservatives like Robert Bork (who was Reich's law school professor and gave him his first job), Reich wholeheartedly approves of their moral indignation but disagrees with their targets. Referring to John Q. Wilson's "broken windows" argument for zero tolerance of petty vandalism, he writes, "The corporate fraud, conflicts of interest, exorbitant pay of top executives, and surge of money into politics are like hundreds of broken windows." Despite such well-made points, the good-natured Reich can't sustain outrage for more than a few sentences. His second main topic-reclaiming economic growth as a liberal banner-is more seriously compromised by his underdeveloped mix of neoliberalism and social democracy (despite his lucid critique of the Radcons' economic ideas and record). But he roars home with his last main subject, "Positive Patriotism," rejecting "chest-thumping pride" in favor of defining America by its ideals. Although his book is uneven, Reich's distinctive perspective provides insights targeted well beyond November's election.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Highbridge Audio; Unabridged edition (May 11, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565118901
• ISBN-13: 978-1565118904
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 4.3 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,525,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

126 of 143 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reich inspires by telling the truth, May 20, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Reason: Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America (Hardcover)

In this book Robert Reich continues to be the voice of reason in America. By exposing the dramatic attack tactics Republicans have used to bully, con, and seize America and by reminding us of the values on which we have built a magnificent and hopeful democracy, Reich provides both reason and hope for the future. Is it right that we should be condemning people for what they do in their bedrooms but ignore the atrocities and treasons committed in American boardrooms? Appendix A of 'Reason' illustrates how the American public has been surveyed as a very tolerant, rational, compassionate, open, and enlightened body but has been made to believe that it is unpatriotic to question and disagree with those who would give tax cuts to the rich and wage war without the support of a world coalition. More importantly than exposing Republican tactics, Reich instructs Democrats on how to shed the lethargy that has plagued them and gives hope that with organization and true, American passion we will restore our reputation and future as the great leader of the world-moral leader and not simply military leader. This book is what Americans need to hear and remember.

143 of 163 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent exposition, May 16, 2004

By 

SK (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reason: Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America (Hardcover)

Right on target, bravo! The real threat to the values and traditions of the Republic comes not from liberals, as neo- and radical conservatives would have us believe, but from an alliance of secretive government, timid legislature, judiciary with little respect for constitution and big money controlling what most Americans hear and see every day through the media.

"Our rulers will become corrupt, our people careless. A single zealot may commence persecutor, and better men be his victims... From the conclusion of this war we shall be going down hill. It will not then be necessary to resort every moment to the people for support. They will be forgotten, therefore, and their rights disregarded. They will forget themselves, but in the sole faculty of making money, and will never think of uniting to effect a due respect for their rights. The shackles, therefore, which shall not be knocked off at the conclusion of this war, will remain on us long, will be made heavier and heavier, till our rights shall revive or expire in a convulsion."

Thomas Jefferson, "Notes on the State of Virginia", response to query 17, (1781).

76 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There Is Hope Yet, May 11, 2004

By 

Philip Gulley (Danville, IN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reason: Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America (Hardcover)

I have long been a fan of Robert Reich and this book confirms what I've always believed - that the fiscal policies articulated by liberals - which enhance the lives of all Americans, not just the richest ones - are the only hope for our country. Thank you, Robert Reich, for your fiscal vision and your prudent, gracious care for the least of these.