Cornell West's latest

[e_dog]

check out Democracy Matters, coming soon to a book stop near you. Cornell West's newest book. the first chapter is essential reading for anyone looking for thoughtful commentary and reflections on the state of American politics and society. lays out with exceptional clarity and eloquence the thesis that democracy is being subverted in the U.S. by the three trends (which are pillars of Bush et al.'s policies) that West calls "free market fundamentalism," "aggressive militarism" and "escalating authoritarianism." against these stand the vital but threatened tradition of democratic movements in America, such as the civil rights movement, which West sees as animated by the three cultural-historical phenomena of "Socratic questioning" which he associates with the ancient Greek democratic impulse; "prophetic witness" which he associates with the Judaic commitment to justice and its corresponding witness and speaking out against injustice, which subsequently inspired Christian and Islamic visions; and "tragicomic hope" which is manifest within not just literature but most profoundly in the African-American tradition of blues, combining a recognition and expression of suffering but without giving in to pessimism, thus retaining a message of hope.

can't wait to read the rest!