The case for modern liberalism
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The case for modern liberalism
Transaction, c2002
Available at 1 libraries
Note
Originally published: The case for modern man. New York : Harper and Brothers, 1956. With new introd
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Originally published in 1955 as The Case for Modern Man, this book challenges the reader to believe in the essence of the modern temperament: the belief in the human mastery of destiny. It remains a brilliant answer to pessimists who try to frighten individuals with tales of sin and disaster, or those who hold the view that human beings are victims of circumstances.
This is a positive statement, a distinguished and inspiring one, which examines human beings today in the light of human history, and demonstrates that improvements in social life were ever a function of intelligence. Frankel discusses the basic notions of Freud and Marx and their influence on the present epoch. He gives close scrutiny to the writings of Jacques Maritain, Reinhold Niebuhr and other doctrinal thinkers. This is a masterly reexamination of the liberal tradition and the people who created it. Frankel shows how Enlightenment has greater usefulness than ever before. Writing within a broadly naturalistic tradition, he argues that the way to restore our faith in ourselves and to restore confidence in our ability to make a better future is to deal with modernity in affirmative terms. The reader will find in these pages a hopeful and reasoned message about human values.
Upon its publication, Robert M. McIver noted that Frankel "revives with remarkable clarity and incisiveness the much abused liberal tradition." And Lyman Bryson called the text "fresh and persuasive, of greatest importance in the present state of mind of America." A critical new introduction by the distinguished philosopher, Thelma Z. Lavine, will increase the value of this modern classic.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Up from Pessimism 1. The Human Condition 2. How Human Nature Makes Us More Good than Bad 3. Reason and Morality 4. Living a Good Life 5. Happiness as a Choice 6. Satisfaction 7. Mind, Thought, and Free Will 8. Why We Are Judgmental-And Should Be 9. Science, Technology, and Nature 10. Freedom from Fear 11. Love, Marriage, and Sex 12. Individualism and Society 13. The Problem of Government 14. America the Beautiful 15. The Two Americas: Rich and Richer 16. The Virtues of Free Market Capitalism 17. Globalization, Trade, Growth, and Poverty 18. Why Corporations Are Not Monsters of Evil 19. The Democratic Revolution 20. War and Peace 21. Clash of Civilizations? 22. Don't Believe the Prophets of Doom 23. Global Warming 24. Modern Times Conclusion: The Rational Optimist Acknowledgments Index
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