|
In this shrewd and eloquent dissection
of American politics and policies, Will Hutton offers powerful
new insight into our new -- and troubling -- mores.
Great societies, this book holds, are marked
by essential core values: the social contract that enhances
its citizens' lives; an honest and enlightened economy;
a vital public realm; and a recognition that the world is
an interdependent place, one best governed under international
law. With the triumph of conservatism in America over the
past several decades, each of these values has withered.
Rampant materialism, corporate corruption, the failure of
government regulation, an unquestioning faith in American
exceptionalism, a conviction that Americans must go it alone
-- all are in the saddle.
The results are dire: we are a weaker, fragmented
society and our greatest prides -- our commitments to democracy
and equality -- have been enfeebled. Yet conservatism retains
its stranglehold, spreading in tandem with American economic
hegemony across the globe. Meanwhile, Europe nurtures its
independence from America's cultural leanings -- its attitudes
toward property, social solidarity, and the public realm
are strikingly divergent.
We are not going in the right direction.
To turn us around -- to secure health services and decent
work for all Americans, to build faith in the economy, to
close the gap between rich and poor, to restore, in short,
the American Dream -- we need to reclaim these values. America
cannot accomplish that task unless it renews its historic
philosophical partnership with today's Europe, which has
chosen a better compass. A Declaration of Interdependence
is a clarion call to Americans that EU leaders can help
us to champion and make viable the cause of a reinvigorated
international society -- and in the process restore core
American values at home.
Will Hutton is chief executive of the
UK's Work Foundation and columnist for the Observer
in London, where he was formerly editor in chief.
|
