A01=Alan Wolfe
Activism
Affirmative action
American Academy in Berlin
Americans
Anti-Federalism
Author_Alan Wolfe
Big government
Bill Clinton
Capitalism
Category=JP
Citizenship
Civil society
Criticism
Culture war
Domestic policy
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eq_society-politics
Extremism
Foreign policy
Foreign policy of the United States
George W. Bush
Government
Great Society
Greatness
Henry David Thoreau
Hostility
Ideology
Imperialism
Intellectual
Isolationism
John F. Kennedy
John Kerry
John McCain
Lani Guinier
Left-wing politics
Liberalism
Nation state
National power
Nationalism
Original intent
Pat Buchanan
Patriotism
Political culture
Political movement
Political party
Political philosophy
Political science
Politician
Politics
Populism
Presidency of George W. Bush
Princeton University Press
Racism
Radicalism (historical)
Reactionary
Realpolitik
Republicanism
Rhetoric
Richard Nixon
Ronald Reagan
Slavery
Sovereignty
Tax
Tax cut
Terrorism
The Federalist Papers
Theodore Roosevelt
Totalitarianism
Treaty
Voting
Welfare state
Westphalian sovereignty
William Kristol
Woodrow Wilson
Product details
- ISBN 9780691119335
- Weight: 397g
- Dimensions: 140 x 216mm
- Publication Date: 20 Feb 2005
- Publisher: Princeton University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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Has America, in its quest for goodness, sacrificed its sense of greatness? In this sharp-witted, historically informed book, veteran political observer Alan Wolfe argues that most Americans show greater concern with saving the country's soul than with making the nation great. Wolfe castigates both conservatives and liberals for opting for small-mindedness over greatness. Liberals, who at their best insisted on policies of national solidarity, have convinced themselves that small is beautiful, prefer multiculturalism to one nation, and are mistrustful of executive political power. Conservatives, who once embraced strong, active central government and an ideal of national citizenship, now support huge tax cuts that undermine America's future ability to undertake any ambitious, long-term project at home or abroad. No great society, in Wolfe's view, has ever been built on the cheap. Wolfe notes that neither the conservatives' call for small-scale faith-based initiatives nor the recent embrace on the left of a grassroots "civil society" can provide health care to tens of millions of uninsured Americans or ensure national security in an age of terrorism.
To find better solutions, Wolfe looks back at specific moments in our national experience, when, in the face of sharp resistance, aspirations for the idea of national greatness shaped American history. He demonstrates how a bold and ambitious political agenda, championed at various times by Alexander Hamilton, John Marshall, Abraham Lincoln, and the two Roosevelts, steered the country toward periods of national strength and unity. Steeped in a colorful, panoramic reading of history, Return to Greatness offers a fresh take on American national identity and purpose. A call to action for a renewed embrace of the ideal of an activist federal government and bold policy agendas, it is sure to become a centerpiece of national debate.
Alan Wolfe is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College. His books include "The Transformation of American Religion: How We Actually Practice Our Faith" (Free Press), "An Intellectual in Public", and "One Nation, After All" (Penguin-Viking).
