The Poverty of Progressivism: The Future of American Democracy in a Time of Liberal Decline

In The Poverty of Progressivism, Jeffrey C. Isaac examines the weakening of liberalism-its causes, its consequences, and its significance for thinking about "left liberal" politics-and concludes that Progressive liberalism in America is at an impasse from which it is unlikely to recover. He contends that the frequently invoked liberal analogies between the present and the early part of the twentieth century are fundamentally mistaken and, ultimately, impractical. Instead, Isaac argues that liberals should look to civil society rather than a revitalized progressive state for the solutions to such public problems as economic insecurity, urban blight, and environmental degradation. Linking together political theory, American history, journalism, and contemporary commentary, The Poverty of Progressivism defends a democratic politics of civil society without illusions.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 3 Introduction Chapter 4 The Progressive Revival Chapter 5 Why a Progressive Revival? Chapter 6 The World We Have Lost Chapter 7 Rethinking the Future of Democratic Innovation

About the Author :
Jeffrey C. Isaac is James H. Rudy Professor of Political Science and the director of the Center for the Study of Democracy at Indiana University.

Review :
Anyone interested in the future of American politics should read The Poverty of Progressivism. Isaac has brilliantly dissected the current demise of liberalism and progressive thought. He sets out an alternative vision of how civil society and democratic participation might improve politics, without overplaying his argument. Isaac has renewed a form of political thought missing from contemporary academic life-historically informed and willing to engage contemporary realities and practical questions. This chastening call for a decent, pragmatic, humanistic politics is an important intervention in public life by one of our most thoughtful political theorists. Situating current initiatives in historical context and reminding us not to confuse wishes with opportunities, The Poverty of Progressivism powerfully counsels a politics of non-grandiose experimentation to advance the core values of liberalism and democracy. The Poverty of Progressivism is a beautifully written prod and a challenge to the contemporary left. It also challenges the right to take its rhetoric about decentralization and its devotion to local community seriously. Jeff Isaac has an exceptional gift for linking profound philosophical reflection with brilliant commentary on our current political condition. Thank God he has exercised it again. Jeff Isaac is one of those rare political theorists who is actually interested in and engaged with real politics. His analysis and critique of 'progressivism' is smart, toughminded, bracing, absolutely honest, sometimes grim-and essential reading for political activists and for citizens generally. Isaac once again demonstrates he is a master comentator. Valuable and readable book. . . . The Poverty of Progressivism is a sharp challenge to that optimistic prospective. It illuminates the serious obstacles faced by the progressive revival, while also offering the neoprogressives a more realistic, if limited, alternative path. Isaac's book raises important theoretical issues about the need for progressives to construct strategic theories informed by a historically-informed democratic theory. Isaac eloquently calls on progressives to see their task like the unending burden of Sisyphus who, on Camus' retelling, found endurance by focusing on the rock itself, rather than on his repeated failures to push it all the way to the mountaintop.