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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political ideologies > Conservatism & right-of-centre democratic ideologies
CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title, 2022 How rural areas have become
uneven proving grounds for the American Dream. Late-stage
capitalism is trying to remake rural America in its own image, and
the resistance is telling. Small-town economies that have
traditionally been based on logging, mining, farming, and ranching
now increasingly rely on tourism, second-home ownership, and
retirement migration. In Dividing Paradise, Jennifer Sherman tells
the story of Paradise Valley, Washington, a rural community where
amenity-driven economic growth has resulted in a new social
landscape of inequality and privilege, with deep fault lines
between old-timers and newcomers. In this complicated cultural
reality, "class blindness" allows privileged newcomers to ignore or
justify their impact on these towns, papering over the sentiments
of anger, loss, and disempowerment of longtime locals. Based on
in-depth interviews with individuals on both sides of the divide,
this book explores the causes and repercussions of the stark
inequity that has become commonplace across the United States. It
exposes the mechanisms by which inequality flourishes and by which
Americans have come to believe that disparity is acceptable and
deserved. Sherman, who is known for her work on rural America,
presents here a powerful case study of the ever-growing tensions
between those who can and those who cannot achieve their visions of
the American dream.
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Mob Rule
(Paperback)
Jake Jacobs
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R483
R401
Discovery Miles 4 010
Save R82 (17%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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In his recent book Against Liberalism, philosopher John Kekes
argued that liberalism as a political system is doomed to failure
by its internal inconsistencies. In this companion volume, he makes
a compelling case for conservatism as the best alternative. His is
the first systematic description and defense of the basic
assumptions underlying conservative thought.
Conservatism, Kekes maintains, is concerned with the political
arrangements that enable members of a society to live good lives.
These political arrangements are based on skepticism about
ideologies, pluralism about values, traditionalism about
institutions, and pessimism about human perfectibility.
The political morality of conservatism requires the protection
of universal conditions of all good lives, social conditions that
vary with societies, and individual conditions that reflect
differences in character and circumstance. Good lives, according to
Kekes, depend equally on pursuing possibilities that these
conditions establish and on setting limits to their violations.
Attempts to make political arrangements reflect these basic
tenets of conservatism are unavoidably imperfect. Kekes concludes,
however, that they represent a better hope for the future than any
other possibility.
In the age of Brexit and Donald Trump, the radical right has gained
significant popularity, characterized by a rhetoric of xenophobia,
discrimination and "hate speech". This book examines why the
politics of hate and ideologies of the far-right are on the rise
and argues that to counter it we must challenge the sense of social
and economic precarity this politics feeds off. Hate in Precarious
Times examines five distinct types of precarity, covering threats
to a particular way of life; fear of apocalyptic terrorism; the
insecurity of austerity, and low-waged jobs in the wake of the
Financial Crisis; challenges to privilege; and the spread of
disinformation in a "post-truth" age. In this book, Neal Curtis
seeks the root of what causes ordinary people to identify with
far-right ideologies and asks what can be done to counter the
conditions underpinning this.
Why should America try to be more like countries that are worse in
nearly every way? Europe has been declining under the weight of its
antiquated institutions, economic fatigue, moral anemia and
cultural surrender. Yet American politicians, technocrats,
academics, and pundits argue, with increasing popularity, that
Americans should look across the Atlantic for solutions to the
nation's problems, including on issues like health care, the
welfare state, immigration, and a bloated bureaucracy. In
Eurotrash, David Harsanyi argues we are looking in the wrong place.
By every economic and societal measure, the United States is more
tolerant than Europe. It is more welcoming of immigrants, but also
far more successful at assimilating them. Minorities do far better
in United States. Our economy is dominant. Only one European
company appears in top 10 corporate powerhouses in the world and
only seven in the top 50. Americans make up nearly half of the
list. Americans are far more charitable and happier than Europeans.
Our slightly lower life expectancy and our slightly higher infant
mortality rate are not a result of substandard care, but a
statistical misunderstanding based on the fact we treat every life
as one worth saving. In this biting, fast-moving, and
well-researched polemic, Harsanyi debunks prevailing notions about
European supremacy and makes an unapologetic case for American
exceptionalism, offering insight and reasoned arguments to counter
current policy prescriptions.
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