The politics of selfishness : how John Locke's legacy is paralyzing America / Paul L. Nevins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nevins, Paul L.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Locke, John, 1632-1704.

Liberalism--United States.

Liberalism.

United States--Politics and government--Philosophy.

United States.

Politics and government.

Philosophy.

Locke, John, 1632-1704--Influence.

Locke, John.

Physical Description:

xvi, 283 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Santa Barbara, Calif. : Praeger, [2010]

Contents:

Part 1 The Root Cause of the Malaise: The American Creed and Its liberal Ethos 1

Chapter 1 The Peculiar Genius of American Politics 3

Chapter 2 The Protestant Reformation, the Emergence of the Burghers, and the Eclipse of the Old Order 11

Chapter 3 Thomas Hobbes as God the Father of Liberalism 21

Chapter 4 John Locke as God the Son: Liberalism's Most Successful Salesman 27

Chapter 5 Liberalism after Locke: From Narcissism to Solipsism 41

Chapter 6 The Emergence of Individualism: America Embraces Locke 47

Chapter 7 Liberalism as the American Gospel of Self and Wealth 55

Part 2 Liberalism Struggles to Address Its Critics 61

Chapter 8 The Crisis of Triumphant Liberalism in England 63

Chapter 9 Liberal Agonistes: Spencer, Sumner Rise to Defend the Status Quo 73

Chapter 10 The Liberal Ascendancy and Its American Naysayers 79

Chapter 11 Liberalism's Nervous Breakdown: John Stuart Mill and the Limits of the Liberal Imagination 85

Chapter 12 Liberalism Repackaged as a Faith-Based Doctrine: T. H. Green as God the Holy Ghost 97

Chapter 13 "Modern Liberalism" after Green: Its Pentecost and Its Demise 109

Part 3 Liberal Hegemony in America 119

Chapter 14 Reactionary Liberalism and Its Apotheosis as the American Creed 121

Chapter 15 The Special Case of FDR: Was the New Deal a New Deal for Liberalism or the Same Old Thing? 125

Chapter 16 The Withering of the American Dream: The Myth of Horatio Alger Becomes Public Policy 131

Part 4 America at the Crossroads 143

Chapter 17 The Evidence of Implosion 145

Chapter 18 The Eclipse of the American Political and Legal Systems 149

Chapter 19 The Growth of Economic Inequality and Despair during America's Second Gilded Age 159

Chapter 20 The Collapse of Public Education in the United States 171

Chapter 21 Lawlessness and Gated Communities as Barometers of Anti-Social Behavior 181

Part 5 The Choice: Liberal Eschatology or a New Worldview? 187

Chapter 22 The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Locke's Political Legacy and Its Consequences 189

Chapter 23 The Rediscovery of Politics and Its European Roots 199.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-276) and index.

ISBN:

0313393516

9780313393518

9780313393525

0313393524

OCLC:

613426388

Publisher Number:

99946135258