The Politics of Selfishness: How John Locke's Legacy Is Paralyzing America
In this thought-provoking book, the author argues that a preoccupation with the self and its solitary concerns—a mindset that is Locke's legacy—is at the root of America's present political and economic problems.

John Locke was an English philosopher who is regarded as the "father of liberalism." His thinking had a profound influence on political philosophy; in fact, the founding fathers who drafted the Constitution of the United States based a portion of its content upon Locke's tenets. However, it can be argued that these Lockean concepts are ill-adapted to realities of the modern world, and as such are the root cause of dysfunction in our body politic today—and are hampering the Obama administration's attempts to effect change.

This book traces the evolution of liberalism as a political philosophy in England and the United States from the 18th century to today. The author presents a series of historical and contemporary studies that illustrate how John Locke's political philosophy of antisocial individualism continues to affect modern American culture. Additionally, this book attempts to address why American "conservatives" are actually liberal, how American "liberals" can also be deemed liberal, to provide direction in getting American politics moving again, and restore the American dream for ourselves and our children.
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The Politics of Selfishness: How John Locke's Legacy Is Paralyzing America
In this thought-provoking book, the author argues that a preoccupation with the self and its solitary concerns—a mindset that is Locke's legacy—is at the root of America's present political and economic problems.

John Locke was an English philosopher who is regarded as the "father of liberalism." His thinking had a profound influence on political philosophy; in fact, the founding fathers who drafted the Constitution of the United States based a portion of its content upon Locke's tenets. However, it can be argued that these Lockean concepts are ill-adapted to realities of the modern world, and as such are the root cause of dysfunction in our body politic today—and are hampering the Obama administration's attempts to effect change.

This book traces the evolution of liberalism as a political philosophy in England and the United States from the 18th century to today. The author presents a series of historical and contemporary studies that illustrate how John Locke's political philosophy of antisocial individualism continues to affect modern American culture. Additionally, this book attempts to address why American "conservatives" are actually liberal, how American "liberals" can also be deemed liberal, to provide direction in getting American politics moving again, and restore the American dream for ourselves and our children.
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The Politics of Selfishness: How John Locke's Legacy Is Paralyzing America

The Politics of Selfishness: How John Locke's Legacy Is Paralyzing America

by Paul L. Nevins Esq.
The Politics of Selfishness: How John Locke's Legacy Is Paralyzing America

The Politics of Selfishness: How John Locke's Legacy Is Paralyzing America

by Paul L. Nevins Esq.

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Overview

In this thought-provoking book, the author argues that a preoccupation with the self and its solitary concerns—a mindset that is Locke's legacy—is at the root of America's present political and economic problems.

John Locke was an English philosopher who is regarded as the "father of liberalism." His thinking had a profound influence on political philosophy; in fact, the founding fathers who drafted the Constitution of the United States based a portion of its content upon Locke's tenets. However, it can be argued that these Lockean concepts are ill-adapted to realities of the modern world, and as such are the root cause of dysfunction in our body politic today—and are hampering the Obama administration's attempts to effect change.

This book traces the evolution of liberalism as a political philosophy in England and the United States from the 18th century to today. The author presents a series of historical and contemporary studies that illustrate how John Locke's political philosophy of antisocial individualism continues to affect modern American culture. Additionally, this book attempts to address why American "conservatives" are actually liberal, how American "liberals" can also be deemed liberal, to provide direction in getting American politics moving again, and restore the American dream for ourselves and our children.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9798216130048
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date: 09/02/2010
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 304
File size: 1 MB
Age Range: 7 - 17 Years

About the Author

Paul L. Nevins has been a trial attorney for the past 28 years.
Paul L. Nevins has been a trial attorney for the past 28 years.

What People are Saying About This

Steve Early

"Paul Nevins is a practicing attorney and former public school teacher who has found a way to make key tenets of America's founding political philosophy more understandable to citizens now trying to repair the damage that Lockean individualism has done to our society. If more of us had read this book in our high school civics classes or college political science courses, we'd be far better equipped to defend 'the public interest' today against conservative voices who claim there is no such thing. The Politics of Selfishness is a wide-ranging account of what's wrong with our schools, courts, workplaces and civic life. It's a wonderful work of scholarship and, unlike so many others, highly readable as well."
Steve Early, labor journalist, lawyer, organizer, and author of Embedded with Organized Labor: Journalistic Reflections on the Class War at Home

George Fried

"Paul Nevins takes seriously an essential but often forgotten truth: that the birth of our nation was conceived in philosophy, that at the core of that philosophy lies John Locke, and that Locke's thought has exerted a profound influence on the character of our country and on liberalism in the classic sense. In a trenchant and wide-randing analysis, Nevins diagnoses a fundamental crisis in American liberalism rooted in Locke, and he traces that crisis through its historical and contemporary strands…One need not agree with all of Nevins' conclusions to agree that we do indeed now face a crisis that goes to the very foundations of our republic and to accept wholeheartedly Nevins' invitation to debate the meaning of our founding in philosophy. This book represents a welcome opportunity to begin that conversation."
George Fried, Chair, Philosophy Department, Suffolk University

William J. O'Brien

"Paul Nevins has laid out an ambitious and persuasive argument in The Politics of Selfishness that John Locke's political philosophy has crippled modern American discourse and marginalized the ideal of the common good. . . . This is the story of how John Locke's ideas have shaped who we are as Americans."

William J. O'Brien

"Paul Nevins has laid out an ambitious and persuasive argument in The Politics of Selfishness that John Locke's political philosophy has crippled modern American discourse and marginalized the ideal of the common good. . . . This is the story of how John Locke's ideas have shaped who we are as Americans."

William J. O'Brien, Economic Consultant, Global Insight

George Fried

"Paul Nevins takes seriously an essential but often forgotten truth: that the birth of our nation was conceived in philosophy, that at the core of that philosophy lies John Locke, and that Locke's thought has exerted a profound influence on the character of our country and on liberalism in the classic sense. In a trenchant and wide-randing analysis, Nevins diagnoses a fundamental crisis in American liberalism rooted in Locke, and he traces that crisis through its historical and contemporary strands…One need not agree with all of Nevins' conclusions to agree that we do indeed now face a crisis that goes to the very foundations of our republic and to accept wholeheartedly Nevins' invitation to debate the meaning of our founding in philosophy. This book represents a welcome opportunity to begin that conversation."

George Fried, Chair, Philosophy Department, Suffolk University

Steve Early

"Paul Nevins is a practicing attorney and former public school teacher who has found a way to make key tenets of America's founding political philosophy more understandable to citizens now trying to repair the damage that Lockean individualism has done to our society. If more of us had read this book in our high school civics classes or college political science courses, we'd be far better equipped to defend 'the public interest' today against conservative voices who claim there is no such thing. The Politics of Selfishness is a wide-ranging account of what's wrong with our schools, courts, workplaces and civic life. It's a wonderful work of scholarship and, unlike so many others, highly readable as well."

Steve Early, labor journalist, lawyer, organizer, and author of Embedded with Organized Labor: Journalistic Reflections on the Class War at Home

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