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Title details for The Crisis of the Middle-Class Constitution by Ganesh Sitaraman - Available

The Crisis of the Middle-Class Constitution

Why Economic Inequality Threatens Our Republic

by Ganesh Sitaraman
MacLeod Andrews
Audiobook
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1 of 1 copy available
In this original, provocative contribution to the debate over economic inequality, Ganesh Sitaraman argues that a strong and sizable middle class is a prerequisite for America’s constitutional system.
A New York Times Notable Book of 2017
 
For most of Western history, Sitaraman argues, constitutional thinkers assumed economic inequality was inevitable and inescapable—and they designed governments to prevent class divisions from spilling over into class warfare. The American Constitution is different. Compared to Europe and the ancient world, America was a society of almost unprecedented economic equality, and the founding generation saw this equality as essential for the preservation of America’s republic. Over the next two centuries, generations of Americans fought to sustain the economic preconditions for our constitutional system. But today, with economic and political inequality on the rise, Sitaraman says Americans face a choice: Will we accept rising economic inequality and risk oligarchy or will we rebuild the middle class and reclaim our republic?
 
The Crisis of the Middle-Class Constitution is a tour de force of history, philosophy, law, and politics. It makes a compelling case that inequality is more than just a moral or economic problem; it threatens the very core of our constitutional system.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 14, 2017

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781524757045
      • File size: 357287 KB
      • Duration: 12:24:20

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      MacLeod Andrews's inflections on contemporary catchphrases like "rising inequality" make the rising economic disparity in our nation seem less ominous than this book's title might suggest. Rather than sounding detached, however, Andrews's tone leaves room for the listener to consider the author's arguments in the context of history. His upbeat vocal style is necessary for the discussion of two millennia of governing structures, each flawed and doomed to failure due to constitutions that encouraged "class warfare." Andrews breezily intersperses the lecture with comparisons to the United States' "middle-class" constitution, which, Sitaraman opines, was designed with the equality of the population at its core. M.P.P. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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