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Since 1980 U. S. politics have been marked by a concerted effort to reduce the size and effectiveness of government, based on the belief that the results of the free market are always good and the results of government action are always bad. This war against the common good is, Sid Olufs and David Schuman argue, a war on both our political process and our private lives. At its core, is an effort to change the very nature of American culture. Leading this campaign are advocates of a radically free market and an equally radical evangelical Christianity.
In contrast, Olufs and Schuman show that America's economy and society work because of government, not in spite of it. Success in the private realm depends, in no small part, on the stability, services, and initiative of the public realm. They go on to question the role of a small, militant religious movement in defining our politics: If God is the decision maker, then every decision is the right one-and there is little need for democratic debate.
From environmental protection to disaster relief, from education to national security, Olufs and Schuman examine the values and politics behind the conservative war on government and show what happens when those who do not believe in government are put in charge of governing.
2006 Copyright 164 Pages
D.W. Sid Olufs is Professor of Political Science at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington
David Feller Schuman is Professor of Education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
