The Next American Civil War The Populist Revolt Against the Liberal Elite

by Harris, Lee

• ISBN13: 9780230114234
• ISBN10: 0230114237
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-08-30
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Summary

The tea parties, the guns at town hall meetings, the protests against health care reform, and the general unrest in America today have taken many people by surprise. Some interpret it in terms of economic hard times, but Lee Harris offers a different explanation. Today's populist revolt is only the latest installment of an ongoing cultural war that began long before the current economic crisis. It is a rebellion against a self-appointed intellectual elite whose attitude to the average American is "Don't worry, we know what is best for you." For Harris, the stakes in the current struggle are high: Will America be ruled by ivory tower liberals, or will it remain the land in which ordinary men and women are free to make their own choices and control their own destinies? Throughout our history, Americans have always challenged the definition of liberty, and this has allowed us to progress as a society. Harris argues that this debate is good and necessary, and that we must take this new populist uprising seriously if we are to defend our founding principles. A masterly and visionary work that weaves current events with philosophical investigation, The Next American Civil War rethinks Americans' most elemental ideas of freedom in order to enable the people of the United States to face the challenges of our times.

Author Biography

Lee Harris is the author of the critically acclaimed The Suicide of Reason and Civilization and Its Enemies. A frequent contributor to Policy Review, The Weekly Standard, The New Atlantis, and The Wall Street Journal, he has become one of the most sought-after commentators on the post-9/11 epoch. He lives in Stone Mountain, Georgia.

Table of Contents

Praise for The Next American Civil War:

"The Next American Civil War is an intellectual defense of a rebellion against intellectuals."--Commentary

 

"Lee Harris examines this critical juncture in American history and offers some back-to-basics advice on preserving our unprecedented spirit of liberty and exceptional national character."--Pajamas Media

Praise for The Suicide of Reason:

“Harris’s book is so engaging that it is difficult to put down, and its haunting assessments make it difficult for a reader to sleep at night. He deserves praise for raising serious questions.” --The New York Times Book Review

Praise for Civilization and Its Enemies:

“[A] startlingly original and visionary work, Civilization and Its Enemies aims at nothing less than providing the vocabulary and theory for political thinking post-al-Qaida." -- Salon