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Democracy and solidarity : on the cultural roots of America's political crisis / James Davison Hunter.

Summary:
"Liberal democracy in America has always contained contradictions--most notably, a noble but abstract commitment to freedom, justice, and equality that, tragically, has seldom been realized in practice. While these contradictions have caused dissent and even violence, there was always an underlying and evolving solidarity drawn from the cultural resources of America's "hybrid Enlightenment." James Davison Hunter, who introduced the concept of "culture wars" thirty years ago, tells us in this new book that those historic sources of national solidarity have now largely dissolved. While a deepening political polarization is the most obvious sign of this, the true problem is not polarization per se but the absence of cultural resources to work through what divides us. The destructive logic that has filled the void only makes bridging our differences more challenging. In the end, all political regimes require some level of unity. If it cannot be generated organically, it will be imposed by force. Can America's political crisis be fixed? Can an Enlightenment-era institution--liberal democracy--survive and thrive in a post-Enlightenment world? If, for some, salvaging the older sources of national solidarity is neither possible sociologically, nor desirable politically or ethically, what cultural resources will support liberal democracy in the future?"-- Provided by publisher

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780300274370
  • ISBN: 0300274378
  • Physical Description: xvii, 483 pages ; 24 cm
  • Publisher: New Haven : Yale University Press, 2024.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 385-461) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:
Preface: Liberal Democracy at the End of the American Century -- Part I, Introduction. The Cultural Crisis of Liberal Democracy -- Part II E pluribus unum? The Boundaries of Solidarity ; The Sources of Solidarity -- Part III "Working through" America's hybrid-enlightenment. America's Hybrid-Enlightenment ; Mythos and Nation-Building ; The Unmaking of the Christian Republic ; A Secular Turn ; A Fragile Humanism ; The Evolving Culture War ; Exhaustion -- Part IV Late-stage democracy. A Great Unraveling ; Nihilism and Its Cultural Logics ; The Authoritarian Impulse ; Whither Liberal Democracy? -- Coda: Imaginaries of Hope.
Subject: Democracy > United States.
Liberalism > United States.
Solidarity > Political aspects > United States.
Culture conflict > United States.
Politics and culture > United States.
Genre: Informational works.

Available copies

  • 1 of 1 copy available at Lehigh Valley Library System.

Holds

  • 1 current hold with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Bethlehem Main Library 320.973 (Text) 33062009969842 New Adult Nonfiction Available -


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