The Present Age : Progress and Anarchy in Modern America

The Present Age challenges readers to re-examine the role of the United States in the world since World War I. Nisbet criticises Americans for isolationism at home, discusses the gutting of educational standards, the decay of education, the presence of government in all facets of life, the diminished connection to community, and the prominence of economic arrangements driving everyday life in America. This work is deeply indebted to the analyses of Tocqueville and Bryce regarding the threats that bureaucracy, centralisation, and creeping conformity pose to liberty and individual independence in the western world. The Present Age relates a tragedy -- the unprecedented militarisation of American life in the decades after 1914, as the result of the necessary resistance to National Socialist and Communist totalitarianism that fed into and reinforced the profound tendencies toward centralisation within modern society. The Present Age challenges readers to reexamine the role of the United States in the world since World War I. Nisbet criticizes Americans for isolationism at home, discusses the gutting of educational standards, the decay of education, the presence of government in all facets of life, the diminished connection to community, and the prominence of economic arrangements driving everyday life in America. This work is deeply indebted to the analyses of Tocqueville and Bryce regarding the threats that bureaucracy, centralization, and creeping conformity pose to liberty and individual independence in the western world. The Present Age relates a tragedythe unprecedented militarization of American life in the decades after 1914, as the result of the necessary resistance to National Socialist and Communist totalitarianism that fed into and reinforced the profound tendencies toward centralization within modern society. Robert Nisbet (19131996), former professor of sociology at Columbia University, is the author of Sociology as an Art Form; The Social Philosophers; Prejudices: A Philosophical Dictionary; The Sociological Tradition; History of the Idea of Progress; and Twilight of Authority , also published by Liberty Fund. "The Present Age, Robert Nisbet's analysis of the United States in the period after 1914, provides an original take on "the American century." This learned, elegantly written essay extends the analyses of Tocqueville and Bryce of the threats that bureaucracy, centralization, and creeping conformity post to liberty and individual independence in the Western world. Nisbet depicts the unprecedented "militarization" of American life in the decades after 1914 as a tragedy - the necessary resistance to National Socialist and Communist totalitarianism that fed into and reinforced the profound tendencies toward centralization in modern society." "Nisbet criticizes Woodrow Wilson's moralistic and militaristic foreign policy and desire for "progressive" social democracy and social engineering at home. His critique of the American "itch to intervene," rooted in "pious universalism," is quite relevant to contemporary debates about humanitarian intervention. And his discussion of the "despotic" character of the modern state raises the question whether republican self-government can survive the relentless expansion of the state's concerns and responsibilities."--BOOK JACKET The Present Age challenges readers to reexamine the role of the United States in the world since World War I. Nisbet criticizes Americans for isolationism at home and discusses the gutting of educational standards, the decay of education, the presence of government in all facets of life, the diminished connection to community, and the prominence of economic arrangements driving everyday life in America. Robert Nisbet (1913–1996) taught at Columbia, the University of California at Berkeley, Smith College, and the University of Bologna. Please note: This title is available as an ebook for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes. Front Matter......Page 1 Title Page......Page 3 Contents......Page 5 Foreword......Page 7 I. The Prevalence of War, p. 1......Page 11 II. The New Absolutism, p. 41......Page 51 III. The Losse Individual, p. 87......Page 97 Epilogue, p. 137......Page 147 Index, p. 141......Page 151 End of the Book, p. 149......Page 159 "The Present Age" challenges readers to re-examine the role of the United States in the world since World War I. Nisbet criticizes Americans for isolationism at home, and discusses the gutting of educational standards, the decay of education, and the presence of government in all facets of life. Robert Nisbet. Includes Index. Originally Published: New York : Harper & Row, 1988. Mode Of Access: World Wide Web.