Description
Book SynopsisIn calling America "the almost chosen nation," Abraham Lincoln invoked at once the Old Testament and the Founders' belief in the two covenantal communities' common ideal: equal liberty. The
Declaration of Independence proclaimed that ideal. Our Constitution instituted it. Although it took the Civil War to abolish the original sin of slavery, equal freedom defined the nation's philosophical foundation. Beginning late in the nineteenth century, however, that vision of liberty under constitutionally limited government mutated into progressivism. An aggressive mix of collectivism and scientism, fueled by Marxism and other toxic European ideologies, its early expression was eugenics, its later ambitious central planning. Meanwhile, an influx of immigrants during times of economic displacement would kindle widespread xenophobia, while populist distrust of financial profit, often associated with Jews, would stoke anti-Semitism. Over time, equal freedom fell into disrepute. Among the idea-elites, "right-wing" and "conservative" became pejoratives. But the rise of the Soviet Union and the aftermath of World War II proved a watershed for Americans, especially for American Jews, for those developments placed the liberal idea in a clarifying geopolitical context. Today, with equality and equity often used synonymously, a conflation of anti-capitalism, anti-Semitism, and anti-Zionism has gained prominence while Islamists make common cause with the enemies of freedom from within. Given the stakes, Jews must reassert the basic principles of their ancient tradition, which are also America's.
Trade ReviewA fascinating tour d'horizon of how Jewish intellectuals and activists helped to define and then make a mess of American liberalism, many of them turning into radicals that undermine American democracy. Juliana Pilon has the intellectual depth to explain what happened and why, starting from the founding of the American colonies and from there to the present time. One hopes her work will reeducate all." —Stephen R. Bryen, founder and first Director of the Pentagon's Defense Technology Security Administration; author of
Technology Security and National Power: Winners and Losers"A penetrating and poignant treatise on the trajectory of liberal (and illiberal) thought and the vicissitudes of Jewish history through the prism of the uplifting life story of a refugee from Communist Romania who went on to become one of the outstanding political philosophers of modern-day America." —Laurence Weinbaum, Chief Editor,
The Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, World Jewish Congress
"Come along with Juliana Geran Pilon on a fascinating, kaleidoscopic journey through the history of Jews in America from a personal perspective, and what it means for the future." —David E. Bernstein, University Professor, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University, author of
Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America"Based on her personal experience with Judaism, the unnatural character of an Eastern European communist dictatorship, and her insight as a leading American public intellectual, Juliana Pilon's history of American liberalism helps the reader separate the liberal from the illiberal. It is an indispensable tool for anyone living in a democratic republic who is thus entrusted with the responsibility of self-governance." —Seth Cropsey, President, Yorktown Institute; former Deputy Undersecretary of the Navy; author of
Seablindness: How Political Neglect Is Choking American Seapower and What to Do About It
