Rethinking the American Union for the Twenty-First Century - Hardcover

Donald Livingston

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1589809572 ISBN 13: 9781589809574

Publisher: Pelican Publishing Co. (US), 2012

Synopsis

A great dissatisfaction with the government rests within society, yet the discussion continues to revolve around the same issues. In 7 essays, scholars propose that the real problem is size and scale, suggesting that the country is simply too big for one central government. This thought-provoking book begins a debate on how to divide it on a more human scale. Such scholars as Dr. Thomas DiLorenzo, Yuri Maltsev, Donald W. Livingston, Kent Masterson Brown, Marshall DeRosa, Kirkpatrick Sale, and Rob Williams contribute to the debate.

About this title

About the Authors

Kent Masterson Brown received his JD from Washington and Lee University School of Law in 1974 and practiced law for thirty-seven years. In addition to authoring several Civil War titles, Brown is the president and content developer for Witnessing History, LLC, for which he has written, hosted, and produced award-winning documentaries. Appointed by Pres. George H. W. Bush, he served as the first chairman of the Gettysburg National Military Park Advisory Commission. Brown currently lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with his wife and children.

The warring ideas of centralization and decentralization are at the core of modern political debates about the national economy, U.S. foreign policy, and citizens' cultural values--just as they were among our Founding Fathers. With the election of Abraham Lincoln, the concept and practice of centralization in U.S. government gained power. In contrast, the Confederate constitution carried decentralization even further than the original Constitution and added a number of features that could stand us in good stead in this time of big government and excessive rules.

DONALD LIVINGSTON is a professor of philosophy at Emory University. He has published two books on the British philosopher David Hume and has been described as "the greatest Hume scholar of the 20th century." Livingston, along with other academics, formed the Abbeville Institute, an organization in higher education dedicated to scholarly study of Southern tradition.

From the Back Cover

Is the United States simply too big to govern? These essays begin the discussion.

In 2003 Donald Livingston and a group of academics formed the Abbeville Institute, an organization of higher learning dedicated to a scholarly study of what is true and valuable in the Southern tradition. In 2010 the Institute sponsored a conference to focus on "State Nullification, Secession and the Human Scale of Political Order." Scholars from across the political spectrum came together to examine the unwieldy political strategy of centralization and the resultant expanding scale of government. This collection of essays grew out of that discourse, providing fresh insights at a time when the nineteenth-century nationalistic language of "one and indivisible" is losing its salience.

Kent Masterson Brown demonstrates that the Constitution ratified in 1789 was, and is, a compact between distinct political societies.
Marshall DeRosa reviews the current revival of states' rights in the Tea Party movement.
Thomas DiLorenzo examines the transformation of a federative constitution grounded in state sovereignty into a nationalist constitution in which the central government defines the limits of its own power through judicial review.
Donald Livingston explores the question of size, scale, and true republican government in historic context.
Yuri Maltsev brings forth the modern secessionist example, discussing in depth the peaceful separation of fifteen states from the Soviet Union and the lessons to be learned by thoughtful Americans.
Kirkpatrick Sale seeks to raise awareness that the republican values of self-government and rule of law cannot exist unless certain conditions of size and scale are satisfied, while questioning what the optimum size should be.
Rob Williams examines secession as it exists today, providing a substantive history of the movement and its introduction into the mainstream discussion of runaway centralization.

From the Inside Flap

In this thought-provoking collection, editor Donald Livingston presents seven essays addressing the modern paradigm of centralization. An outgrowth of the Abbeville Institute Scholars' Conference held in Charleston, South Carolina in February of 2010, this collection presents an exploration of state nullification, secession, and the human scale of political order. Scholars from a variety of backgrounds delve into such complex issues as nationalism, government by judiciary, the effects of size on the republican tradition, and natural progressions in rethinking nationalistic government.

By returning to original source materials, including the Constitution, the essayists clarify topics as diverse as the source of nationalism and influences of early political figures, the role of size in government, and the disintegration of the Soviet Union with parallels evident in the United States.

The essays provide clear evidence of the centralized government's ongoing power struggle with individual states. They offer concise justification for immediate action to preserve the sovereignty of member states while protecting all citizens from the ever-expanding federal government and restrictions on freedoms. As a collective, they provide a modern cautionary tale for the twenty-first century.

Edition details

• Publisher: Pelican Publishing Co. (US)
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1589809572
• ISBN 13: 9781589809574
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224