Reconsidering American Liberalism: The Troubled Odyssey Of The Liberal Idea [Paperback]

James Young (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0813306485 | ISBN-13: 978-0813306483

Forty years ago Louis Hartz surveyed American political thought in his classic The Liberal Tradition in America. He concluded that American politics was based on a broad liberal consensus made possible by a unique American historical experience, a thesis that seemed to minimize the role of political conflict.Today, with conflict on the rise and with much of liberalism in disarray, James P. Young revisits these questions to reevaluate Hartz’s interpretation of American politics. Young’s treatment of key movements in our history, especially Puritanism and republicanism’s early contribution to the Revolution and the Constitution, demonstrates in the spirit of Dewey and others that the liberal tradition is richer and more complex than Hartz and most contemporary theorists have allowed.The breadth of Young’s account is unrivaled. Reconsidering American Liberalism gives voice not just to Locke, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison, Lincoln, and Dewey but also to Rawls, Shklar, Kateb, Wolin, and Walzer. In addition to broad discussions of all the major figures in over 300 years of political thought—with Lincoln looming particularly large—Young touches upon modern feminism and conservatism, multiculturalism, postmodernism, rights-based liberalism, and social democracy. Out of these contemporary materials Young synthesizes a new position, a smarter and tougher liberalism not just forged from historical materials but reshaped in the rough and tumble of contemporary thought and politics.This exceptionally timely study is both a powerful survey of the whole of U.S. political thought and a trenchant critique of contemporary political debates. At a time of acrimony and confusion in our national politics, Young enables us to see that salvaging a viable future depends upon our understanding how we have reached this point.Never without his own opinions, Young is scrupulously fair to the widest range of thinkers and marvelously clear in getting to the heart of their ideas. Although his book is a substantial contribution to political theory and the history of ideas, it is always accessible and lively enough for the informed general reader. It is essential reading for anyone who cares about the future of U.S. political thought or, indeed, about the future of the country itself.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James P. Young is professor emeritus of political science at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York and now an independent scholar working in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is the author of The Politics of Affluence and editor of Consensus and Conflict: Readings in American Politics. He is the author of many articles and reviews in both professional journals and popular journals of opinion on political theory and thought.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Westview Press (January 5, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813306485
• ISBN-13: 978-0813306483
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,266,700 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An extensive, intense, and superb treatise., March 8, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Reconsidering American Liberalism: The Troubled Odyssey Of The Liberal Idea (Paperback)

The book goes historically through American Political Thought, and I would be hard-pressed to think of anything too important that Young leaves out. He shows a remarkable intensity, his writing style is clear and concise, if a bit too technical for anyone who wants a _quick_ read on the topic (not that a quick read on this topic is possible in any case.) He is, however, not _so_ technical that mainstream audiences should be put off. Quite the contrary, the book is more accessible to mainstream audiences then it needs to be; Young could have gotten away with writing only as an academic, but, because he cares about our Republic as well as academia, he writes in a style accessible to both mainstream and academic audiences.

The only flaws I can find are in Young's optomism in the final pages, and his treatment of race. He paints a bleak portrait of our republic, and then seems to cop out a little at the end. This is, however, minor. His treatment of race shows an uncharacteristic niavatee (is that the right spelling) and a far too willing embrace of race neutral solutions to the problem of race. This is something more then a minor quibble, but this problem, however blatant, does not detract from the excellence of the work as a totality.

Brief summary: Young challanges various prevailing interpretations of American political thought, and argues that, while many other commentators have it partly right, they all miss the fact that the forces that drive U.S. politics stem from a plurality of sources. Namely, an individualistic tradition, a Protestent religious tradition, and a secular community-oriented tradition.