Voices of Dissent : Critical Readings in American Politics

by Grover, William F.; Peschek, Joseph G.

• ISBN13: 9780321129055
• ISBN10: 0321129059
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-01-01
• Publisher: Longman

Summary

This distinctive readerthe only collection of critical readings on American government availabletakes students far beyond the mainstream debate between liberalism and conservatism to fundamentally challenge the status quo. Voices of Dissent provides a systematic series of critical perspectives on American politics that goes beyond the debate between mainstream liberalism and conservatism. This text nurtures students' abilities to critically assess the givens of political and economic life in the United States. A recurrent theme in the selections is political economy and the tension between capitalism and democracy.

Author Biography

William F. Grover is Professor of Political Science at Saint Michael's College in Vermont Joseph G. Peschek is Professor of Political Science at Hamline University in Minnesota

Table of Contents

Preface	viii
Introduction: Why a Critical Reader?	1	(8)
PART I: Structure	9	(104)
Chapter 1: Democracy and Political Economy	10	(37)
1. JIM HIGHTOWER
This Land Is Your Land	11	(11)
2. CHARLES E. LINDBLOM
The Market as Prison	22	(9)
3. DAN CLAWSON, ALAN NEUSTADTL, MARK WELLER
Why Does the Air Stink? Corporate Power and Public Policy	31	(11)
4. JOHN BELLAMY FOSTER
Global Ecology and the Common Good	42	(5)
Chapter 2: Ideology and Political Culture	47	(35)
5. JENNIFER L. HOCHSCHILD
What Is the American Dream?	48	(14)
6. ROBERT N. BELLAH, RICHARD MADSEN, WILLIAM M. SULLIVAN, ANN SWIDLER, STEVEN M. TIPTON
Liberal Individualism and the Crisis of Citizenship	62	(9)
7. ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE
Power of Majority Opinion in America Over Thought	71	(4)
8. ROBERT JENSEN
Goodbye to Patriotism	75	(7)
Chapter 3: Constitutional and State Structures	82	(31)
9. JOSHUA COHENAND JOEL ROGERS
American Exceptionalism and the Politics of Fragmentation	83	(7)
10. KENNETH M. DOLBEARE AND LINDA MEDCALF
The Dark Side of the Constitution	90	(12)
11. DANIEL LAZARE
The Constitution, the Supreme Court, and the Decline of American Democracy	102	(7)
12. HOWARD ZINN
Some Truths Are Not Self-Evident	109	(4)
PART II: Politics and Institutions	113	(176)
Chapter 4: Mass Media and Politics	115	(38)
13. ROBERT W. McCHESNEY AND JOHN NICHOLS
It's the Media, Stupid	116	(11)
14. W. LANCE BENNETT
News Content and Illusion: Four Information Biases That Matter	127	(10)
15. MARK CRISPIN MILLER
The Media and the Bush Dyslexicon	137	(10)
16. INA HOWARD
Media Power Sources: TV Sets the Agenda	147	(6)
Chapter 5: Parties and Elections	153	(35)
17. FRANCES FOX PIVEN AND RICHARD A. CLOWARD
Why Americans Still Don't Vote	154	(10)
18. MICAH L. SIFRY
Finding the Lost Voters	164	(7)
19. JOEL ROGERS AND RUY TEIXEIRA
America's Forgotten Majority	171	(12)
20. LANI GUINIER
After the Deluge: Electoral Reform in the Wake of the Election of 2000	183	(5)
Chapter 6: Congress	188	(34)
21. JOHN C. BERG
Congress and Big Business	189	(7)
22. BENJAMIN GINSBERG AND MARTIN SHEFTER
RIP for Democratic Politics	196	(9)
23. SENATOR JAMES JEFFORDS (I-VT) AND REPRESENTATIVE BARBARA LEE (D-CA)
Courage in Congress: Two Dissenters Explain Their Actions	205	(4)
24. WILLIAM F. GROVER
Congress and Movement-Building: Bernie Sanders and the Congressional Progressive Caucus	209	(13)
Chapter 7: The Presidency	222	(37)
25. MICHAEL A. GENOVESE
The Limits of Presidential Power	223	(5)
26. BRUCE MIROFF
The Presidential Spectacle	228	(17)
27. KEVIN PHILLIPS
Presidential Dynasties	245	(5)
28. JOSEPH G. PESCHEK
The Bush Doctrine and U.S. Imperial Strategy	250	(9)
Chapter 8: Law and the Courts	259	(30)
29. CARL SWIDORSKI
Corporations, the Law, and Democracy	260	(10)
30. CASS R. SUNSTEIN
Is Free Speech the Enemy of Democracy?	270	(8)
31. PATRICIA J. WILLIAMS
This Dangerous Patriot's Game	278	(6)
32. NINA SCHUYLER
Women's Rights and the Cultural Defense Argument	284	(5)
PART III: Politics and Vision	289	(65)
Chapter 9: Political Challenges at Home and Abroad	290	(35)
33. HOLLY SKLAR, BETSY LEONDAR-WRIGHT, CHUCK COLLINS
The Shaky American Dream: The Perils of the Growing American Wealth Gap	291	(12)
34. BARBARA EHRENREICH
Doing it for Ourselves: Can Feminism Survive Class Polarization?	303	(5)
35. BRIAN GILMORE
Black America and the Dilemma of Patriotism	308	(5)
36. NOAM CHOMSKY
The United States and Global Wars of Terror	313	(12)
Chapter 10: Visions of a New Democracy	325	(33)
37. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
Letter From Birmingham Jail	326	(7)
38. NAOMI KLEIN
Reclaiming the Commons	333	(6)
39. ELAINE BERNARD
Why Unions Matter	339	(8)
40. RALPH NADER
Closing the Democracy Gap	347	(7)
Resources for Further Study	354	(4)
Appendix	358	(20)
The Declaration of Independence	358	(3)
The Constitution of the United States	361	(13)
The Federalist No. 10	374	(4)
Credits	378