When Reclaiming the American Dream was first published in 1965, a New York Daily News editorial called it "dynamite between book covers" and compared its potential influence to that of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Two years later, George Gallup said the book had sparked "the most dramatic shift in American thinking since the New Deal." Robert Bremner, the leading historian of the American philanthropic tradition, later listed the publication of Reclaiming the American Dream as one of the important events in the history of American philanthropy. Cornuelle was the first observer since Tocqueville to see America's unparalleled machinery for voluntary social action in large, bold terms-not just as a useful adjunct to government, but as an essential alternative to it. Reclaiming the American Dream was the first book to sketch the full dimensions of the nation's voluntary sector, give it a name (the independent sector), explain its unfamiliar metabolism, and imagine its enormous unused potential for defining the central problems of an industrial society accurately and acting on them effectively. In a new, highly personal afterword, Cornuelle explains why the effort he led to organize ambitious substitutions of voluntary action for governmental responsibility failed, and why now, more than thirty years later, it has begun to succeed. Annunziata's introductory essay discusses the book's neglected status as a classic. "Refreshingly free of cant and rancor," he writes, "its voice was authentic, appealing and inclusive-the voice of the limited government tradition but with a human face. . . . Published in the midst of an absence of intellectual curiosity and widespread indifference even among scholars, Richard Cornuelle's work helped to shape a new intellectual climate of awareness and receptivity to the voluntary, independent sector."
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I first met Dick Cornuelle in 1965 at a Young Republican conference. I was impressed and later he visited me and was keynoter at a Housing Conference of which I was co-ordinator.
The book literally changed my life and my approach to public policy. The Independent Sector as described by Cornuelle is the most powerful, largest, most nearly solvent and includes more American citizens than either of the other two sectors-Public and Private.
The book literally changed my life and my approach to public policy. The Independent Sector as described by Cornuelle is the most powerful, largest, most nearly solvent and includes more American citizens than either of the other two sectors-Public and Private.
He made the case that the sector had become lazy and somewhat indolent during the Roosevelt years after He had discovered the secret of obtaining their support for his programs by delving into the public purse and giving them public support.
Cornuelle argues that they should reclaim their independent status and get about the business of pursuing solutions to Americas educational, health, social and employment problems among others.
The Independent Sector as described by Cornuelle includes By and Girl Scouts, Labor Unions, Churches,Independent Schools, Coon Hunter Clubs, The Elks, The Masons, The Shriners, the Red Cross, The Salvation Army, Mental Health Associations and hundreds
more.
De Toqueville referred to the Independent Sector in his writing to the King of France and noted that they are the "Genius of the American System"
His ideas were and are sound and America needs to pay attention to them!
Format:Paperback
I read (and still have) the 1965 edition. It was given to me by a mentor who said it had my name on it when he was in a second hand bookstore. This was in the early eighties when I was immersing myself in the Literature of Freedom from Hillsdale College and the Foundation for Economic Education.
Its premise is familiar: Unlimited government needlessly compromises the American Dream. But what can be done about it? The only and most obvious alternative most people see is the private, or profit, sector. Many other people, especially those of the modern liberal political persuasion, see problems with a private sector solution for many of societies pressing needs. So it becomes a polarizing situation.
Richard C. Cornuelle, however, reminds us of what Alexis de Tocqueville discovered in his sociological work on America of 1831. Tocqueville wrote that what made America really great was a phenomenon in America brought about by freedom of association. He wrote that everywhere, individuals banded together in groups voluntarily outside the profit and legislative arenas to facilitate equitable solutions to difficult problems.
Cornuelle points out that there is a third area of society besides the legislative arena and the profit arena. It is the voluntary, or independent, sector of society. Society thus becomes a three-legged stool. What is encouraging is his description of how this independent sector can enter into direct competition with the government and do a better, more effective job.
I was highly encouraged by his observations and ideas. He said that unlike a government program, an independent program can spring to life, grow and disband naturally as needs naturally emerge and resolve. This is a seminal work.
Its premise is familiar: Unlimited government needlessly compromises the American Dream. But what can be done about it? The only and most obvious alternative most people see is the private, or profit, sector. Many other people, especially those of the modern liberal political persuasion, see problems with a private sector solution for many of societies pressing needs. So it becomes a polarizing situation.
Richard C. Cornuelle, however, reminds us of what Alexis de Tocqueville discovered in his sociological work on America of 1831. Tocqueville wrote that what made America really great was a phenomenon in America brought about by freedom of association. He wrote that everywhere, individuals banded together in groups voluntarily outside the profit and legislative arenas to facilitate equitable solutions to difficult problems.
Cornuelle points out that there is a third area of society besides the legislative arena and the profit arena. It is the voluntary, or independent, sector of society. Society thus becomes a three-legged stool. What is encouraging is his description of how this independent sector can enter into direct competition with the government and do a better, more effective job.
I was highly encouraged by his observations and ideas. He said that unlike a government program, an independent program can spring to life, grow and disband naturally as needs naturally emerge and resolve. This is a seminal work.
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