Featuring a foreword by Congressman Glen Browder, Politics on a Human Scale examines political decentralization in the United States, from the founding of the republic to the present. Part of the desirable equilibrium is a sense of proportionality. Some sizes, some amounts, some levels are more appropriate than others. Decentralism is the best political tool to ensure equilibrium, to promote proportionality, and to obtain appropriate scale. Power distribution should be as wide as possible. Government functions should be as close to the people as practicable. In this way, individual human beings are not swallowed by a monstrous Leviathan. Persons are not at the mercy of an impersonal bureaucracy led by the far-away few. Decentralism gives us politics on a human scale. It gives us more democracy within the framework of a republic. The longest chapters in the book deal with crucial turning points in U.S. history—specifically, when decentralists lost the upper-hand in the two major political parties. Decentralism in our nation runs deep, both intellectually and historically. It also has considerable popular support. Yet today it is a virtual political orphan. In Washington, neither major political party is serious about dispersing power to lower levels of government or to the people themselves. Still, there are dissident politicians and political movements that remain committed to the decentralist principle. Power needs to be held in check, partly through decentralization, because power holds a great and dangerous attraction for humans. Recognition of this human tendency is the first step in guarding against it and getting back on a better path.
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In Politics on a Human Scale, Jeff Taylor examines political decentralization in the United States, including agrarianism, states’ rights, the abandonment of the decentralist impulse by the national leadership of the Democratic and Republican parties, and the dissident tradition on the contemporary political scene.
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Chapter 1. Introduction: The Quadratic Persuasion Chapter 2. The Country Party: Agrarianism Surveyed Chapter 3. Nullification and the Politics of State Sovereignty Chapter 4. The Path Not Taken by the Progressive Era and New Deal Chapter 5. Southern Democrats and Selective Devolutions Chapter 6. Me-Too Republicans and Averted Revolutions Chapter 7. Ronald Reagan: Conservatism Co-Opted Chapter 8. Dissident Voices in an Age of Centralization Appendices A. Two Southern Populists with National Ambitions B. Wilson and the Coming of War C. Thomas Bayard, Grover Cleveland, and the Rise of Empire D. Personal Links between Taft ’52 and Goldwater ’64
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This is an ambitious examination of America's traditional rejection of centralized government and its embrace of dispersed power and locally responsive politics. Taylor argues that decentralism is much more than 'states' rights'; it means 'minimalistic government at every level.' Taylor covers a wide swath of American politics as he explores both the history and implications of decentralism. He begins with agrarianism and traces his narrative through the eras of state sovereignty, the Progressive Era, the New Deal, the Reagan revolution, and centralization . . . [S]tudents of American politics and history will . . . appreciate the rich detail of the narrative and the presentation of an interesting and important perspective on decentralization. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers, undergraduate students, research faculty, and professionals.
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780739175750
Publisert
2013-09-26
Utgiver
Vendor
Lexington Books
Vekt
1170 gr
Høyde
238 mm
Bredde
161 mm
Dybde
43 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
648

Forfatter

Biographical note

Jeff Taylor is professor of political science at Dordt College and author of Where Did the Party Go? William Jennings Bryan, Hubert Humphrey, and the Jeffersonian Legacy. He has written articles for, and been cited by, publications ranging from The American Conservative and LewRockwell.com to Green Horizon Quarterly and The Nation.