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Political Analysis books
A Conflict of Visions Thomas Sowell's account of the constrained and unconstrained visions of human nature that sort political disputes into two camps. An American Life Ronald Reagan's 1990 autobiography, from his Illinois boyhood to Hollywood, the governorship and the presidency. Anarchy, State, and Utopia Robert Nozick's 1974 case that only a minimal state is justified, and that patterned redistribution violates individual rights. Coming Apart Charles Murray's 2012 study of a growing divide between a new upper class and a new lower class in industry, marriage and community life. Crisis of the House Divided Harry Jaffa's 1959 reading of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, defending Lincoln's appeal to the Declaration's principles. Democracy in America Tocqueville's two-volume portrait of the young United States, praising its liberty and warning of the soft despotism that equality can invite. Hillbilly Elegy J. D. Vance's 2016 memoir of growing up in a struggling Ohio and Kentucky Appalachian family, and of the culture of the white working class. Ideas Have Consequences Richard Weaver's 1948 argument that Western civilization's decline began when it abandoned belief in transcendent truth for nominalism. In Defense of Freedom Frank Meyer's 1962 statement of fusionism, uniting traditional virtue and individual liberty as the program of American conservatism. Losing Ground Charles Murray's 1984 case that the War on Poverty's incentives left the poor worse off, which shaped the 1996 welfare reform. Natural Right and History Leo Strauss's 1953 critique of historicism and positivism, defending the classical idea that justice has a standard in nature. Rationalism in Politics Michael Oakeshott's essays attacking the belief that politics is a technique to be mastered, and defending practical knowledge and tradition. Reagan, in His Own Hand The radio commentaries Reagan wrote himself in 1975 to 1979, which show his thinking before the presidency. Reflections of a Neoconservative Essays by Irving Kristol, the founder of neoconservatism, on capitalism, culture, foreign policy and the failure of the liberal faith. Reflections on the Revolution in France Edmund Burke's 1790 warning that the French Revolution's abstract rights would end in terror, and the founding text of modern conservatism. Suicide of the West James Burnham's 1964 argument that liberalism is the ideology of Western decline, a doctrine of guilt that disarms civilization. The Calculus of Consent James Buchanan and Gordon Tullock's 1962 founding work of public choice, applying economic reasoning to voting, legislatures and constitutional rules. The Conscience of a Conservative Barry Goldwater's 1960 manifesto, a short statement of limited government, states' rights and anticommunism that launched a movement. The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945 George H. Nash's 1976 history of how libertarians, traditionalists and anticommunists were assembled into a movement. The Conservative Mind Russell Kirk's 1953 history of conservative thought from Burke onward, which named a movement and gave it a canon of principles. The Constitution of Liberty Hayek's 1960 case that freedom means freedom from coercion under general law, and that planning and the welfare state quietly erode it. The Fractured Republic Yuval Levin's 2016 history of postwar American politics, and a call to rebuild the middle layer of civil society. The Great Debate Yuval Levin's 2014 account of the Burke-Paine quarrel over the French Revolution as the origin of the modern left-right divide. The New Science of Politics Eric Voegelin's 1952 argument that modern ideologies are Gnostic heresies, and that a political order needs its symbols of transcendence. The Quest for Community Robert Nisbet's 1953 study of how the modern state grows as families, churches and local groups weaken, leaving individuals isolated. The Revolt of the Masses Ortega y Gasset's 1930 diagnosis of mass man, who demands rights and comforts but accepts no duty, and the danger he poses to civilization. The Spirit of the Laws Montesquieu's 1748 comparison of governments, whose doctrine of separated powers shaped the American Constitution. The Unheavenly City Edward Banfield's 1970 argument that urban problems stem largely from class culture and that many remedies fail because they misdiagnose. The Vision of the Anointed Thomas Sowell's 1995 study of how elite opinion makers push policies by claiming moral superiority and ignoring contrary evidence. Two Treatises of Government John Locke's argument that government exists by consent to protect life, liberty and property, and may be resisted when it betrays that trust. Why Liberalism Failed Patrick Deneen's 2018 argument that liberal individualism has undermined the communities and virtues it needs, producing the populist backlash.