The End of the Republican Era (Julian J. Rothbaum Distinguished Lecture Series)
Readers who have followed prolific Cornell University professor Lowi since the late 1960s, when hisThe End of Liberalismargued that the New Deal changed American institutions so significantly that the period since the '30s should be understood as a "Second Republic," will not be surprised to learn that--like the earlier book--The End of the Republican Erabears a deliberately ambiguous title. Lowi's subject is objectives as well as terminations, both the recent hegemony of the Grand Old Party and the tradition of republican government. Ideology lies at the center of Lowi's analysis. Carefully defining old and new varieties of liberalism, conservatism, and (less important in the U.S. context) "the left," he traces shifting alliances of these tendencies and analyzes the "tragic flaw" that led to the collapse of the New Deal Democratic coalition and the serious weakness that now may destroy either the fragile Republican coalition of Old Liberals and New Conservatives or the American republic itself. As usual, Lowi provides a smart, distinctly controversial analysis of politics past, present, and future.Mary Carroll--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.