New Republic

An eminent historian offers his views on American democracy

In A New Republic, one of America’s most respected historians offers a major statement on the nature of our political system and a critical look at the underpinnings of our society. American democracy, says John Lukacs, has been transformed from an exercise in individual freedom and opportunity to a bureaucratic system created by and for the dominance of special groups. His book, first published in 1984 as Outgrowing Democracy, is now reissued with a new introduction, in which Lukacs explains his methodology, and a new final chapter, which sums up Lukacs’s thoughts on American democracy today.

Reviews of the earlier edition

“A rich, subtle, and often ingenious argument . . . an eloquent, provocative, but disturbing book.”—Edwin M. Yoder, Jr., Washington Post Book World

“Mr. Lukacs is an original and subtle historian, and [this book] is an engaging intellectual surprise party. . . . I was continuously enchanted by the play of his ideas—by the sharpness of his distinctions and the acuteness of his descriptions.”—Naomi Bliven, New Yorker

“It has been a long time since Americans were offered such a provocative interpretation of their historical predicament. . . . We would be foolish not to examine it closely.”—Laurence Tool, Society

John Lukacs is the author of more than twenty books on history, among them The Hitler of History; The End of the Twentieth Century and the End of the Modern Age (nominated for the Pulitzer Prize) and six books available from Yale University Press.