Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewRich in critique and optimism. . . . This book will be particularly welcomed by readers who embrace liberalism as Raskin does but fear that it has been supplanted by neoconservative ways of thinking that subvert liberal ideals as well as an active, questioning citizen body. Highly recommended. * CHOICE *
Martin Luther King said, 'The curve of history bends towards justice.' In Liberalism Marcus Raskin gives us a long glance down that road. He too has a dream, for which he offers a hopeful, yet realistic roadmap. Raskin lucidly shows how modern militarism and multinational corporations have detoured us from true liberalism, and how we can regain the path to peace and justice. Liberalism is a rare combination of deep insight, apt anecdote, and genuine concern for others—a wonderful book. -- Congressman John Conyers, Jr., (D-Mich.)
Goethe declared: 'In order to possess what we have inherited, we have to earn it again.' We are the heirs of liberalism, but our earning capacity is evidently diminished. That, perhaps, is why liberalism today is so weak. Marcus Raskin, after a lifetime of intellectual and political devotion to citizenship and freedom, has come to our help with a major attempt to rethink both our situation and our tradition. Young and old (and those in between) are greatly in his debt. -- Norman Birnbaum, Georgetown University Law Center
When you read this book, you join a wide ranging discussion with the dean of the American Left on the antecedents and future of the current movement for peace and justice. -- Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich, (D-Ohio)
Marcus Raskin is unquestionably our foremost theoretician and practitioner of liberalism, and in this invaluable book he gives a spirited and comprehensive account of why liberalism remains our best hope for a humane social and political future for America. [The] blend of sophistication and commitment that Raskin brings to his account of liberalism gives his argument an extra level of authenticity. I urge everyone to read this fine book as a matter of civic duty. -- Richard Falk, Albert G. Milbank Professor of International Law Emeritus, Princeton University
Table of Contents1 Introduction Chapter 2 I The Liberal Purpose Chapter 3 II The Ambiguity of Liberal Democracy Chapter 4 III Giving Birth to Third-Stage Liberalism Chapter 5 IV Features of Democratic Transformation Chapter 6 V Cultural Support and Impediments to Liberal Democracy Chapter 7 VI Social Character and the Liberalism of Social Reconstruction Chapter 8 VII Capitalist Economics Fails Democracy Chapter 9 VIII Democracy and the Culture of Technohype Chapter 10 IX The Liberal Democratic Covenant: Everyone Sits at the Table Chapter 11 X Education and the University: Testing Ground for Liberal Democracy Chapter 12 XI Peace and Realpolitik Chapter 13 XII War Avoidance and a Peaceful Framework Chapter 14 XIII Tragic and Hopeful Signs: The Ought and Necessary
