If you want students to really understand the concept of power, moving beyond a survey book’s quick discussion of Laswell’s “who gets what and how,” Muir’s thoughtful Freedom in America might be the book for you. Exploring the words and ideas of such thinkers as Madison, Jefferson, Hamilton, and Tocqueville, Muir discusses the nature and limits of three types of power—coercive, reciprocal, and moral—and then uses this framework to explain how American political institutions work.
If looking for an alternative to a long survey text—or itching to get students grappling with The Federalist Papers or Democracy in America with more of a payoff—Muir’s meditation on power and personal freedom is a gateway for students to take their study of politics to the next level. His inductive style, engaging students with well-chosen and masterfully written stories, lets him draw out and distill key lessons without being preachy. Read a chapter and decide if this page turner is for you.
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Part I. Freedom and Power
1. Anarchy
2. Coercive Power
3. Tyranny
4. The Police Power
5. The American Constitution
6. The Declaration of Independence
7. Tocqueville and Marx
8. Reciprocal Power
9. Moral Power
10. Demagoguery
11. Social Pluralism
12. Political Democracy
Part II. Institutions of Freedom
13. The Presidency
14. The Coercive Power of the Presidency
15. The Presidency’s Reciprocal and Moral Powers
16. Legislatures as Schools
17. Congress as Defender of Freedom
18. The Supreme Court as Freedom’s Protector
19. The Moral Power of the Courts
20. Political Parties: Machines, Coalitions, Churches
21. American Newspapers and Ideas
22. Free-Market Capitalism
23. The Moral Effects of Taxation
24. Federalism and Freedom Part
III. American Society
25. We the People
26. The American Electorate
27. Tocqueville’s Warnings
28. Equality
29. Racial Equality
30. Americans and Foreign Relations
31. The Democratic Vision
Epilogue
Testimonials
"Muir is one of the most astute, wisest, and profound scholars of the last 50 years. He is America’s ‘Toqueville for the 2000’s’ and this is his
Democracy in America. It draws on a lifetime of learning and reflection.
Freedom in America is a very important, brilliant, and memorable work that will live for decades to come."
- John J. DiIulio, University of Pennsylvania"No other text has ever combined all the features of Muir’s remarkable book: an efficient introduction to American government; practical insights derived from hands-on experience in all three branches and all three levels of government, as well as election campaigns; and a brilliant scholar’s mature reflections on the fundamental values that this system serves. Even students who disagree with the interpretation will be informed, provoked, and inspired."
- Paul J. Quirk, University of British Columbia"Muir’s book is a page-turner. He grabs the reader’s attention and demonstrates why American politics are so compelling. Through well-crafted narrative and argument,
Freedom in America prompts the reader to consider, in a serious way, why the American political system works the way it does."
- Kenneth P. Miller, Claremont McKenna College"
Freedom in America will challenge readers to appreciate the American political system. Exceptionally well written. Beautifully written, in fact. Muir is a master craftsman. Thoughtful, analytical, original, insightful--and intellectually balanced."
- William Parente, University of Scranton"I think it is safe to say that no political scientist has produced a book like
Freedom in America. No one brings together disparate yet relevant materials like Muir. The breadth of his knowledge of political philosophy, classic fiction, American and European history, economic theory, and practical politics shines through in this book. He has obviously spent a great deal of time (a lifetime) thinking about how and why Americans continue to enjoy a degree of liberty only grasped at in other parts of the world."
- Kathleen Uradnik, St. Cloud University
Bio(s)
William Ker Muir, Jr, University of California, Berkeley
William Ker Muir, Jr., was born in Detroit, Michigan, and earned his Ph.D. in political science at Yale University. He has taught at the University of Michigan Law School, Yale, and (for three decades) the University of California, Berkeley, where he has served as Department Chair. He has also worked as an attorney, consultant to the Oakland, California Police Department, committee staff member in the California State Assembly, speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, writer in Governor Pete Wilson's gubernatorial reelection campaign, and weekly columnist for the Oakland Tribune. In 1996 he won the Republican nomination for his State Legislature District and proceeded to lose-- handily-- to his Democratic opponent. He has gained several awards for teaching, including the Berkeley campus Distinguished Teaching Award and the Northern California Phi Beta Kappa Association's Excellence in Teaching Award. He and his wife have two daughters and three grandchildren.
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