Whether or not Schwarz’s principles catch on, his clearheaded, moderate analysis and commitment to moral rigor and civic...
A political science professor reassesses the meaning and role of government in an age of partisanship.
There is no question that partisan politics is more volatile than ever, writes Schwarz (Freedom Reclaimed: Rediscovering the American Vision, 2004, etc.), and such a crippling divide is the root of America’s recent economic crisis, among other problems. Moreover, there is an overwhelming sense that the interests of our elected statesmen are being subverted by corporate lobbyists and the constant pressures of an ever-looming election cycle. This is the political climate as Schwarz views it, and such dysfunction inspired him to step back and re-examine how our system of governance has become so paralyzed. The problem, he writes, is that both political parties are equally guilty of abandoning the political philosophy of the Founding Fathers, which he defines as a vision of freedom that is not self-serving but inclusionary, for the benefit of all citizens. Furthermore, Schwarz attacks both Democratic and Republican platforms: Democrats lack a solid, agreed-upon foundation from which to ground their policy, and Republicans reductively pursue small government and free market zealotry. Providing examples of these flawed perspectives—on health care, the economy, the environment and other areas—Schwarz posits his “Common Credo” as a solution. The 10 principles of the credo outline the limits of governmental power in a way that is designed to follow the ideals of the founders by keeping bureaucracy small but supporting those that need it. While the tenets of the credo are mostly self-evident rehashes of early American political philosophy, the author offers sensible expansions and is at his best when taking to task any issue he sees as morally inconsistent or dishonest, regardless of party or ideology.
Whether or not Schwarz’s principles catch on, his clearheaded, moderate analysis and commitment to moral rigor and civic duty are encouraging.Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-87140-339-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Liveright/Norton
Review Posted Online: May 25, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular...
A neurosurgeon with a passion for literature tragically finds his perfect subject after his diagnosis of terminal lung cancer.
Writing isn’t brain surgery, but it’s rare when someone adept at the latter is also so accomplished at the former. Searching for meaning and purpose in his life, Kalanithi pursued a doctorate in literature and had felt certain that he wouldn’t enter the field of medicine, in which his father and other members of his family excelled. “But I couldn’t let go of the question,” he writes, after realizing that his goals “didn’t quite fit in an English department.” “Where did biology, morality, literature and philosophy intersect?” So he decided to set aside his doctoral dissertation and belatedly prepare for medical school, which “would allow me a chance to find answers that are not in books, to find a different sort of sublime, to forge relationships with the suffering, and to keep following the question of what makes human life meaningful, even in the face of death and decay.” The author’s empathy undoubtedly made him an exceptional doctor, and the precision of his prose—as well as the moral purpose underscoring it—suggests that he could have written a good book on any subject he chose. Part of what makes this book so essential is the fact that it was written under a death sentence following the diagnosis that upended his life, just as he was preparing to end his residency and attract offers at the top of his profession. Kalanithi learned he might have 10 years to live or perhaps five. Should he return to neurosurgery (he could and did), or should he write (he also did)? Should he and his wife have a baby? They did, eight months before he died, which was less than two years after the original diagnosis. “The fact of death is unsettling,” he understates. “Yet there is no other way to live.”
A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular clarity.Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8129-8840-6
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2015
PERSPECTIVES
Occasionally wonky but overall a good case for how the dismal science can make the world less—well, dismal.
“Quality of life means more than just consumption”: Two MIT economists urge that a smarter, more politically aware economics be brought to bear on social issues.
It’s no secret, write Banerjee and Duflo (co-authors: Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way To Fight Global Poverty, 2011), that “we seem to have fallen on hard times.” Immigration, trade, inequality, and taxation problems present themselves daily, and they seem to be intractable. Economics can be put to use in figuring out these big-issue questions. Data can be adduced, for example, to answer the question of whether immigration tends to suppress wages. The answer: “There is no evidence low-skilled migration to rich countries drives wage and employment down for the natives.” In fact, it opens up opportunities for those natives by freeing them to look for better work. The problem becomes thornier when it comes to the matter of free trade; as the authors observe, “left-behind people live in left-behind places,” which explains why regional poverty descended on Appalachia when so many manufacturing jobs left for China in the age of globalism, leaving behind not just left-behind people but also people ripe for exploitation by nationalist politicians. The authors add, interestingly, that the same thing occurred in parts of Germany, Spain, and Norway that fell victim to the “China shock.” In what they call a “slightly technical aside,” they build a case for addressing trade issues not with trade wars but with consumption taxes: “It makes no sense to ask agricultural workers to lose their jobs just so steelworkers can keep theirs, which is what tariffs accomplish.” Policymakers might want to consider such counsel, especially when it is coupled with the observation that free trade benefits workers in poor countries but punishes workers in rich ones.
Occasionally wonky but overall a good case for how the dismal science can make the world less—well, dismal.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-61039-950-0
Page Count: 432
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: Aug. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
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