The Politics and Business of Self-Interest from Tocqueville to Trump (International Political Theory)

Self-interest is an important human motive and this book explores its evolution in the United States and its consequences for politics, business, and personal relationships. In the postwar era American understandings of self-interest have moved away from Alexis de Tocqueville’s concept of “self-interest well-understood” – in which people recognize that their interests are served by the success of the community of which they are part – towards “individualism” – by which he meant narrow framing that often leads people to pursue their interests at the expense of the community. The book documents this evolution through qualitative and quantitative content analysis of presidential speeches, television sitcoms and popular music, before exploring its negative consequences for democracy. Self-interest is an important human motive and this book explores its evolution in the United States and its consequences for politics, business, and personal relationships. In the postwar era American understandings of self-interest have moved away from Alexis de Tocqueville's concept of "self-interest well-understood"--In which people recognize that their interests are served by the success of the community of which they are part - towards "individualism"--by which he meant narrow framing that often leads people to pursue their interests at the expense of the community. The book documents this evolution through qualitative and quantitative content analysis of presidential speeches, television sitcoms and popular music, before exploring its negative consequences for democracy. .-- Provided by publisher Front Matter ....Pages i-ix Introduction (Richard Ned Lebow)....Pages 1-25 Self-Interest (Richard Ned Lebow)....Pages 27-43 Presidential Speeches (Richard Ned Lebow)....Pages 45-61 I Love Lucy to Modern Family (Richard Ned Lebow)....Pages 63-86 Rock to Rap (Richard Ned Lebow)....Pages 87-104 Self-Interest and Democracy (Richard Ned Lebow)....Pages 105-121 Back Matter ....Pages 123-125 Contents 7 List of Figures 8 Chapter 1: Introduction 9 Structure of the Book 26 Chapter 2: Self-Interest 34 Tocqueville 36 Conclusion 46 Chapter 3: Presidential Speeches 51 Chapter 4: I Love Lucy to Modern Family 68 Comparative Analysis 87 Chapter 5: Rock to Rap 92 Chapter 6: Self-Interest and Democracy 110 Tocqueville Revisited 116 Index 127 Annotation Self-interest is an important human motive and this work explores its evolution in the United States and its consequences for politics, business, and personal relationships