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I so looked forward to reading this book by Cass R. Sunstein. I loved FDR, our best president so far, especially his New Deal programs like the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Federal Transient Service. FDR's ideas are now back on the front burner with our economic turmoil. So, it was sad to actually crack open the binding of this book and see that what was inside didn't live up to its exciting topic and great subtitle.
The book could have been edited down to a lengthy article for a weekly news magazine. It's repetitive throughout and sometimes includes stories that are more about praise of FDR than about his stated topic of a push on economic, social, and cultural rights (ESC). The book wasn't meant to be a biography of FDR, and that's a good thing since it fails there. There's also sloppy editing, e.g. claiming Lake Shore Drive (in Chicago) was built by the WPA (p. 47) and then two pages later, claims that the Public Works Administration was responsible for that same project.
The author has a poor grasp of some important issues. He defines American Exceptionalism as "the absence of a significant socialist or even a social democratic movement in the United States" (p.106). While that may be a manifestation he attributes to this concept, American Exceptionalism is simply a theory that states the US differs qualitatively from other nations by way of its beliefs, its maturation, its ideals or its composition. The term was introduced by Tocqueville. His definition, without attribution or explanation, is simply incorrect. Another example is the "Rule of Law." Sunstein has fetishized this concept into something much more than what it is, and also fails to explore that once law is created, how it is applied to different people and groups can subvert the original intent.
This two examples are illustrative of the work overall. He uses them to further his own argument, without looking at any other data that might cast doubt on his interpretation. Another example is his "prescient" ability to decide, without any doubt in his mind, how people who were not appointed to the Supreme Court during the Nixon Administration, would have adjudicated cases if they'd been on the Court. He blames America's turning away from FDR's conception of ESC rights on people Nixon appointed to the Court. His logic is that the Court was moving towards accepting ESC rights as US rights, but that the Court backpedaled under Nixon's new picks. He claims that if Hubert Humphrey had won, his appointees to the Court would have enshrined ESC rights and the world would be a better place. Unfortunately, it's impossible to predict, with 100% accuracy, how justices will decide. The Supreme Court (and lower courts) are replete with nominees chosen for their ideological purity who go against the views for which they were supposedly chosen. It'd be one thing for Sunstein to say that the Court may have been different, but he stretches belief with his certainty.
Finally, on a more personal note, I take issue with his unfettered faith in free trade as the panacea for all that ails America, and the world. Second, he offers simplistic views suggesting that new rights extended by the government will undermine individual incentive and motivation. Finally, he's opposed to the living wage movement, claiming that raising wages for all to a "livable" level will only lead to greater joblessness as companies hire fewer workers.
If you're interested in a good book that covers some of these topics, especially homelessness and how FDR approached it (which treads into these ESC rights), check out Kenneth Kusmer's "Down and Out, [b:On the Road|6288|The Road|Cormac McCarthy|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21E8H3D1JSL._SL75_.jpg|3355573]: The Homeless in American History."
The book could have been edited down to a lengthy article for a weekly news magazine. It's repetitive throughout and sometimes includes stories that are more about praise of FDR than about his stated topic of a push on economic, social, and cultural rights (ESC). The book wasn't meant to be a biography of FDR, and that's a good thing since it fails there. There's also sloppy editing, e.g. claiming Lake Shore Drive (in Chicago) was built by the WPA (p. 47) and then two pages later, claims that the Public Works Administration was responsible for that same project.
The author has a poor grasp of some important issues. He defines American Exceptionalism as "the absence of a significant socialist or even a social democratic movement in the United States" (p.106). While that may be a manifestation he attributes to this concept, American Exceptionalism is simply a theory that states the US differs qualitatively from other nations by way of its beliefs, its maturation, its ideals or its composition. The term was introduced by Tocqueville. His definition, without attribution or explanation, is simply incorrect. Another example is the "Rule of Law." Sunstein has fetishized this concept into something much more than what it is, and also fails to explore that once law is created, how it is applied to different people and groups can subvert the original intent.
This two examples are illustrative of the work overall. He uses them to further his own argument, without looking at any other data that might cast doubt on his interpretation. Another example is his "prescient" ability to decide, without any doubt in his mind, how people who were not appointed to the Supreme Court during the Nixon Administration, would have adjudicated cases if they'd been on the Court. He blames America's turning away from FDR's conception of ESC rights on people Nixon appointed to the Court. His logic is that the Court was moving towards accepting ESC rights as US rights, but that the Court backpedaled under Nixon's new picks. He claims that if Hubert Humphrey had won, his appointees to the Court would have enshrined ESC rights and the world would be a better place. Unfortunately, it's impossible to predict, with 100% accuracy, how justices will decide. The Supreme Court (and lower courts) are replete with nominees chosen for their ideological purity who go against the views for which they were supposedly chosen. It'd be one thing for Sunstein to say that the Court may have been different, but he stretches belief with his certainty.
Finally, on a more personal note, I take issue with his unfettered faith in free trade as the panacea for all that ails America, and the world. Second, he offers simplistic views suggesting that new rights extended by the government will undermine individual incentive and motivation. Finally, he's opposed to the living wage movement, claiming that raising wages for all to a "livable" level will only lead to greater joblessness as companies hire fewer workers.
If you're interested in a good book that covers some of these topics, especially homelessness and how FDR approached it (which treads into these ESC rights), check out Kenneth Kusmer's "Down and Out, [b:On the Road|6288|The Road|Cormac McCarthy|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21E8H3D1JSL._SL75_.jpg|3355573]: The Homeless in American History."
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