Synopses & Reviews
How do we form a connection to the ideals and institutions of public life? This connection is sometimes expressed in the language of civic engagement, public service, and commitment to the public good. While we do not lack for literature to guide us in thinking about public life, we have less to call on when our problem is not only to explore public ideals and institutions, but also to consider the nature and origin of our capacity to make a connection with and find meaning in those institutions and ideals. Levine explores the nature and origin of this capacity to form a connection and find meaning.
Review
"Considering the historical moment we are living through and the current policy debates and political challenges for an ostensibly polarized America, David Levine asks some fundamental questions not asked presently by most economists, political scientists, policy analysts and academics, politicians, and public administrators--questions that ought to be at the forefront of the present dialogue in American politics. The author gives us a persuasive conceptual framework for understanding the paradox of civic engagement in the liberal state."--Michael A. Diamond, Professor and Director, Center for the Study of Organizational Change, Harry S Truman School of Public Affairs, University of Missouri
About the Author
David P. Levine is Professor of Economics at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies. Prior to joining the School of International Studies in 1987, he was Chair of the Universitys Department of Economics. Between 1973 and 1981, he was Assistant and Associate Professor of Economics at Yale University. Professor Levine was educated at the University of Wisconsin (B.A., economics, 1969), Yale University (Ph.D., economics, 1973) and The Colorado Center for Psychoanalytic Studies (Certificate in Psychoanalytic Scholarship, 1994). He is the author of fifteen books in the fields of economics, political economy, and political psychology, most recently: Object Relations, Work, and the Self (2010); Welfare, Right, and the State (2008); and Politics without Reason (2008).
Table of Contents
Civic engagement * Engagement and trust * Subjectivity and Mourning * Tolerance * Diversity * Teaching and Learning * Common ground