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Is There a Culture War? A Dialogue on Values and American Public Life (Pew Forum Dialogue Series on Religion and Public Life) by James Davison Hunter
Red and Blue states . . . the "Religious Right" and the "Liberal Media" . . . NASCAR dads and soccer moms . . . Is America clearly and bitterly divided? Are today's social and political differences truly worrisome, or the unavoidable products of a diverse democracy? In Is There a Culture War? two leading authorities on political culture lead a provocative examination of division and unity within America. Long before most pundits and analysts considered the notion of a "culture war," James Davison Hunter and Alan Wolfe were laying the groundwork for the debate. Now, for the first time, these two important thinkers join in dialogue to search for the truth about America's cultural condition. Two other brilliant voices enter the forum, commenting on Hunter's and Wolfe's views--historian Gertrude Himmelfarb and Morris Fiorina, author of Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America .
- GenresPolitics
Paperback
First published October 15, 2006
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About the author
James Davison Hunter
46 books45 followersJames Davison Hunter is the Labrosse-Levinson Distinguished Professor of Religion, Culture, and Social Theory at the University of Virginia and Executive Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 17, 2014
This book was extraordinarily insightful in understanding the various approaches scholars take in describing and analyzing America’s “culture wars.” In my opinion, the best essays are by James Divison Hunter and Gertrude Himmelfarb. Morris P. Fiorina’s was fairly good.
Regarding Alan Wolfe, I appreciated and understood many of his points, but was disappointed to see that his views are based on an unfair caricature of conservatives and Republicans. He writes things like, “The fact that conservatives control politics but not the culture fuels the anger of those who are convinced that their will is being thwarted” (p.56) and “Yet not even complete control over the political system is likely to transform American culture back to a period when clergy had unquestioned authority” (56). I travel in some pretty conservatives circles, and know no one who wants anyone to have unquestioned authority. And not everyone is fueled by anger. Furthermore, Wolfe argues that Republicans are becoming more conservative while Democrats are moving more toward the center, the latter having called a “truce” in the culture wars (57). This notion forms a crucial part of his argument in which he blames Republicans for refusing to let go of social issues for the purely cynical motive of getting votes, thus prolonging an unnecessary culture ware. This argument has, over the past few years, been proven wrong. Wolfe was writing in 2006, so I would be fascinated to know how today, in the age of Obama and an increasingly leftist Democratic party, he would modify his argument.
Having said all that, much of Wolfe’s arguments are worthy of careful consideration, as are those of all of the contributors. A great read.
Regarding Alan Wolfe, I appreciated and understood many of his points, but was disappointed to see that his views are based on an unfair caricature of conservatives and Republicans. He writes things like, “The fact that conservatives control politics but not the culture fuels the anger of those who are convinced that their will is being thwarted” (p.56) and “Yet not even complete control over the political system is likely to transform American culture back to a period when clergy had unquestioned authority” (56). I travel in some pretty conservatives circles, and know no one who wants anyone to have unquestioned authority. And not everyone is fueled by anger. Furthermore, Wolfe argues that Republicans are becoming more conservative while Democrats are moving more toward the center, the latter having called a “truce” in the culture wars (57). This notion forms a crucial part of his argument in which he blames Republicans for refusing to let go of social issues for the purely cynical motive of getting votes, thus prolonging an unnecessary culture ware. This argument has, over the past few years, been proven wrong. Wolfe was writing in 2006, so I would be fascinated to know how today, in the age of Obama and an increasingly leftist Democratic party, he would modify his argument.
Having said all that, much of Wolfe’s arguments are worthy of careful consideration, as are those of all of the contributors. A great read.
January 5, 2011
This book is part of a series that the Pew Research Center has published as a joint project of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and the Brookings Institution. Essays by James Davison Hunter and Alan Wolfe make up most of this slim book.
It's an interesting book. The copyright is 2006 and I was surprised at how dated some of the comments seemed, especially the many mentions of the Terry Schiavo case and the low profile of corporate influence in U.S. politics. To be fair, that last one is not part of the thrust of the book, and they do mention the increasing use of popular media in the ongoing effort to shape "culture".
An interesting point, I thought, was that American popular opinion and morals have become increasingly "liberal" (individual decision-making) while at the same time government/politics have become increasingly "conservative" (authority-based decision-making).
Amazingly enough, this was a good read during several sessions of the exercycle. Go figure! I'm glad that I did both.
It's an interesting book. The copyright is 2006 and I was surprised at how dated some of the comments seemed, especially the many mentions of the Terry Schiavo case and the low profile of corporate influence in U.S. politics. To be fair, that last one is not part of the thrust of the book, and they do mention the increasing use of popular media in the ongoing effort to shape "culture".
An interesting point, I thought, was that American popular opinion and morals have become increasingly "liberal" (individual decision-making) while at the same time government/politics have become increasingly "conservative" (authority-based decision-making).
Amazingly enough, this was a good read during several sessions of the exercycle. Go figure! I'm glad that I did both.
May 11, 2012
Sociological debates are always interesting. I think Hunter does a good job defending the thesis, but Wolfe is right that it is probably Europe where the metaphor is currently much more apt.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews