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Public citizens : the attack on big government and the remaking of American liberalism / Paul Sabin.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, NY : W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., [2021]Edition: First editionDescription: xviii, 254 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780393634044
  • 0393634043
Subject(s):
Contents:
The postwar partnership of business, labor, and government -- Rethinking the liberal embrace of government agencies -- Creating public interest firms -- "Insecure" power and the nonprofit rationale -- Making regulation "government-proof" -- "Sue the bastards" -- Institutionalizing the public interest movement -- The Carter administration's struggle for balance -- Stalemate : the 1980 election and its legacy.
Summary: "The story of the dramatic postwar struggle over the proper role of citizens and government in American society. In the 1960s and 70s, an insurgent attack on traditional liberalism took shape in America, built on new ideals of citizen advocacy and the public interest. Environmentalists, social critics, and consumer advocates like Rachel Carson, Jane Jacobs, Ralph Nader, and others crusaded against what they saw as a misguided and often corrupt government. Drawing energy from civil rights protests and opposition to the Vietnam War, the new citizens movement drew legions of followers and scored major victories, disrupting plans for highways and dams, banning harmful chemicals, and blocking pipelines. In the process, citizen advocates helped to undermine big government liberalism and, ironically, clear the way for Reagan-era "free market" conservatives who sought to slash regulations and enrich corporations. Public Citizens traces the history of the public interest movement and explores its tangled legacy, showing the ways New Deal liberalism fell apart and the challenges in trying to replace it"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 320.513 S116 Available 33111010559413
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

In the 1960s and 1970s, an insurgent attack on traditional liberalism took shape in America. It was built on new ideals of citizen advocacy and the public interest. Environmentalists, social critics, and consumer advocates like Rachel Carson, Jane Jacobs, and Ralph Nader crusaded against what they saw as a misguided and often corrupt government. Drawing energy from civil rights protests and opposition to the Vietnam War, the new citizens' movement drew legions of followers and scored major victories. Citizen advocates disrupted government plans for urban highways and new hydroelectric dams and got Congress to pass tough legislation to protect clean air and clean water. They helped lead a revolution in safety that forced companies and governments to better protect consumers and workers from dangerous products and hazardous work conditions.

And yet, in the process, citizen advocates also helped to undermine big government liberalism--the powerful alliance between government, business, and labor that dominated the United States politically in the decades following the New Deal and World War II. Public interest advocates exposed that alliance's secret bargains and unintended consequences. They showed how government power often was used to advance private interests rather than restrain them. In the process of attacking government for its failings and its dangers, the public interest movement struggled to replace traditional liberalism with a new approach to governing. The citizen critique of government power instead helped clear the way for their antagonists: Reagan-era conservatives seeking to slash regulations and enrich corporations.

Public Citizens traces the history of the public interest movement and explores its tangled legacy, showing the ways in which American liberalism has been at war with itself. The book forces us to reckon with the challenges of regaining our faith in government's ability to advance the common good.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The postwar partnership of business, labor, and government -- Rethinking the liberal embrace of government agencies -- Creating public interest firms -- "Insecure" power and the nonprofit rationale -- Making regulation "government-proof" -- "Sue the bastards" -- Institutionalizing the public interest movement -- The Carter administration's struggle for balance -- Stalemate : the 1980 election and its legacy.

"The story of the dramatic postwar struggle over the proper role of citizens and government in American society. In the 1960s and 70s, an insurgent attack on traditional liberalism took shape in America, built on new ideals of citizen advocacy and the public interest. Environmentalists, social critics, and consumer advocates like Rachel Carson, Jane Jacobs, Ralph Nader, and others crusaded against what they saw as a misguided and often corrupt government. Drawing energy from civil rights protests and opposition to the Vietnam War, the new citizens movement drew legions of followers and scored major victories, disrupting plans for highways and dams, banning harmful chemicals, and blocking pipelines. In the process, citizen advocates helped to undermine big government liberalism and, ironically, clear the way for Reagan-era "free market" conservatives who sought to slash regulations and enrich corporations. Public Citizens traces the history of the public interest movement and explores its tangled legacy, showing the ways New Deal liberalism fell apart and the challenges in trying to replace it"-- Provided by publisher.

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