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Achieving Our Country: Leftist Thought in Twentieth-century America (William E.Massey Senior Lectures in the History of American Civilization)
 
 
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Achieving Our Country: Leftist Thought in Twentieth-century America (William E.Massey Senior Lectures in the History of American Civilization) (Paperback)

by R Rorty (Author)
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
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Customers buy this book with The Real American Dream: A Meditation on Hope (William E.Massey Senior Lectures in the History of American Civilization) by A Delbanco

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Product details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Harvard University Press; New edition edition (27 Aug 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0674003128
  • ISBN-13: 978-0674003125
  • Product Dimensions: 20.7 x 13.7 x 1.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 480,083 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #79 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Philosophy > Schools of Thought > Pragmatism

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Product Description

The author argues that the Left wing in America sees the sins of America's past poisoning hope for the future, and challenges the "lost" generation of the Left to understand the role it might play in the tradition of democratic intellectual labour that started with writers like Walt Whitman and John Dewey. The book traces the source of the debilitating mentality of shame in the Left of how national pride and American patriotism come to seem an endorsement of atrocites - from slavery to the slaughter of Native Americans, from the felling of ancient forests to the Vietnam War. At the centre of this history is the conflict between the Old Left and the New that arose during the Vietnam War era. The author describes how the paradoxical victory of the antiwar movement, ushering in the Nixon years, encouraged a disillusioned generation of intellectuals to pursue "High Theory" at the expense of considering the place of ideas in our common life. He sees a retreat from secularism and pragmatism, and decries the tendency of the heirs of the New Left to theorize about the United States from a distance instead of participating in the civic work of shaping our national future. Richard Rorty looks to redress the imbalance in American cultural life by rallying those on the Left to the civic engagement and inspiration needed for "achieving our country".
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Informative and Inspiring Essays on Renewing "the Left", 30 Jun 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Achieving Our Country: Leftist Thought in Twentieth-century America (William E.Massey Senior Lectures in the History of American Civilization) (Hardcover)
In this collection, which includes his three Massey lectures delivered in 1997 and two related essays from 1995, Richard Rorty argues that the once vital "left," to which America is deeply indebted, has sadly rendered itself irrelevant. Rorty critiques members of the (post)modern left who, embittered by pervasive injustice, have eschewed meaningful campaigns for political change in favor of too-abstract theory, too-utopian "movements" and too-pessimistic contempt for those who would work "within the system" for necessary reform. The American Left, Rorty argues, has become "spectatorial" rather than "participatory," able to comment upon the nation's descent into oligarchy but stymied by view that our nation's sins are so ingrained as to place us beyond redemption.

Drawing on figures such as Walt Whitman, John Dewey, Abraham Lincoln, Irving Howe, Herbert Croly, and Harold Bloom, Rorty conjures an inspiring vision of a left that reconciles economic and cultural progressivism and becomes once again a participatry, progressive, and relevant force in American politics.

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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars the message more so than the book, 24 Mar 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Achieving Our Country: Leftist Thought in Twentieth-century America (William E.Massey Senior Lectures in the History of American Civilization) (Hardcover)
...not a spectacular or well arguemented book but one providing many insights. Insights needed particularily for my generation of ambivalent college students...being bombarded with the shames of our country's past and current state. Are these reasons enough to ignore our country while we each separetly pursue our own selfish interests? No, we as Americans must do something better for our country...a shared belief in hope needs to be in our consciousness. One that works for us all. The book helps you perceive things and why we cannot give up on our country.
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0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Rorty should find a new hobby., 17 Dec 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Achieving Our Country: Leftist Thought in Twentieth-century America (William E.Massey Senior Lectures in the History of American Civilization) (Hardcover)
Rorty points out the error of many while offering little in solutions. I found this book to be uninforming and redundant. If you are a blind followerer with no imagination, you might find this an interesting read.
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