UP FROM CONSERVATISM: Why the Right is Wrong for America [Hardcover]

Michael Lind (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 5, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0684827611 | ISBN-13: 978-0684827612 | Edition: 1St Edition

The premier independent intellectual of his generation tells the story of his evolution away from right-wing orthodoxy, explains why the Right is wrong for America, and paints a vivid insider's portrait of the conservative movement he knows up close. Dealing with issues of trade, religion, culture, sex, and race, Lind warns readers that the fulfillment of the real Republican agenda will produce a class-divided country in which the government is subordinate to a few wealthy families and powerful corporations.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This former rising star of the right reveals what he believes to be the disturbing truth about the hidden economic agenda of the conservative elite - and about their cynical cultural war strategy for acquiring and maintaining political power. Penetrating in its analysis and insight, savage in its wit, Up From Conservatism adds an important and funny voice to the '96 campaign.

From Publishers Weekly

Lind is perhaps the most prominent convert from 1980s neoconservatism. Though his book only occasionally dips into his personal story, it is a powerful attack on conservatives who, he says, use "the culture war, a revival of racism and radical antigovernment rhetoric" to distract voters from the realities of their own economic exploitation. Lind's language is strong, and he has much ammunition. The most damaging conservative hoax of recent years, he argues, is supply-side economics, which led to our current deficit, "the central fact of American politics today." He also critiques proposals for school vouchers, tax policies that shift burdens to the middle class and proposals to cut welfare, noting the much larger "Hidden Welfare State" of programs such as mortgage subsidies. It is too late to rescue American conservatism from the radical right, he declares, pointing out the surprising sympathy conservatives have for antigovernment hate groups. Lind doesn't dwell on attacking the left; he did that in The Next American Nation. Given that few politicos today espouse the "national liberalism" he propounds?a centrist populism that unites moderate social conservatism with economic class warfare?Lind urges his readers to support neoliberals such as President Clinton. Translation rights: ICM/Kristine Dahl; U.K. rights: Simon & Schuster.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; 1St Edition edition (July 5, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684827611
• ISBN-13: 978-0684827612
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,426,726 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Generally good, but could've used a few rewrites., May 7, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Moultrie, Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: UP FROM CONSERVATISM: Why the Right is Wrong for America (Hardcover)

Coming from a family of conservative Southern Democrats, I've been looking for a book like this for a long time. Lind's writing style really does need some work - most of this book gives the impression of being rather hastily composed, and it could've benefited from a more heavy-handed editor. Still, you can't fault Lind for his ideas, which are generally right on. He does a good job of explaining the political frustration of many average Americans: their basic conservatism makes them wary of the weirdo left, but also causes them to be disgusted by the reactionary radicalism which passes for "conservatism" in modern American political discourse. Good job, but next time, polish up that writing a little more, Mike...

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deep thinking, artful writing, December 8, 2007

By 

Harmonious "angelapi" (San Juan, PR Puerto Rico) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: UP FROM CONSERVATISM: Why the Right is Wrong for America (Hardcover)

Two concepts come to mind whenever I read one of Michael Lind's books: erudition and sheer intellectual brilliancy. This book is another example of that. Mr. Lind argues that Conservatism (championed by the Republicans) is at best dead wrong and at worst downright evil regarding almost all important political and social issues in modern American life. In this book Mr. Lind debunks all the myths and lies on which the Republican platform rests. This is a book you will thoroughly enjoy.

8 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Topic, Interesting but Difficult to Read, August 16, 2002

By 

John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: UP FROM CONSERVATISM: Why the Right is Wrong for America (Hardcover)

If you are planning on reading this book then I would suggest that you get a good nights sleep, fix some strong coffee, and find a comfortable chair. This is a book that requires more then the average amount of concentration. I think the author wanted everybody to know that he had a very good education and understanding of the topic, because he certainly did not make the book light and easy to read. To be honest I was looking for a book that gave me a run down of all the things that a Democrat would dislike about the far right wing of the Republican Party. The book does provide some of this information, but you need to work at it to get it.

The author spends the majority of his time on the economic issues and how the conservatives differ from the main stream of America. He also talks a good deal on how the spin is put out by the conservatives to make the average person think that strong political policies that benefit only a few of the richest in America somehow will help the middle class. Overall the book is interesting and well thought out. I think maybe the editor should have forced the author to cut out some of the more difficult to work through areas, there are some chapters that have 15 different "isums" in them, how is one to keep them all straight. The author did hit some of my frustrations with the conservatism movement. It is just that I doubt it will ever get a wider audience given its tough to work through writing.