What do you think?
The Great Game of Politics: Why We Elect, Whom We Elect
From our nation's inception there has been a constant dynamic of tension between those political philosophies that we have labeled the left and the right, despite the fact that the vast majority of American voters really fall into the category of moderates. During the early years, the shifts between the two were dramatic and the Federalists on one side, the Jeffersonians on the other, as the young democracy came to grips with the two opposing political forces that were to mold the new nation. On one hand we have the concerned with business, conservatism, and the development of capital and wealth. They want the government to provide security that will protect the nation's interest while allowing free-market forces to increase prosperity. On the other hand we have the left, concerned with personal rights, equality, and the fostering of prosperity for all citizens through an active and involved federal government.
By explicating the Presidency from George Washington to George W. Bush,
The Great Game of Politics examines the American Presidency as a cyclic reflection of the concerns of the electorate vis à vis the excitation of the ideologies of our two major parties in a constant left-right swing where the will of the people sets the pendulum in motion and determines the direction the country will take for another four years. From the early years, where the dynamic tension that forged the nation initially required numerous shifts to establish an acceptable political equilibrium, to the revered legacies of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, whose presidencies not only initiated major political shifts but also instituted fundamental changes in the apparatus of government that would prove to be integral to the administrations that followed them, both Democratic and Republican.
They seized the reins of government and made a lasting mark. Indeed the truly great presidents¾Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Jackson, Lincoln, Theodore and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Reagan¾shaped the course of history for our nation and in doing so proved themselves to be masters of The Great Game of Politics.
By explicating the Presidency from George Washington to George W. Bush,
The Great Game of Politics examines the American Presidency as a cyclic reflection of the concerns of the electorate vis à vis the excitation of the ideologies of our two major parties in a constant left-right swing where the will of the people sets the pendulum in motion and determines the direction the country will take for another four years. From the early years, where the dynamic tension that forged the nation initially required numerous shifts to establish an acceptable political equilibrium, to the revered legacies of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, whose presidencies not only initiated major political shifts but also instituted fundamental changes in the apparatus of government that would prove to be integral to the administrations that followed them, both Democratic and Republican.
They seized the reins of government and made a lasting mark. Indeed the truly great presidents¾Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Jackson, Lincoln, Theodore and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Reagan¾shaped the course of history for our nation and in doing so proved themselves to be masters of The Great Game of Politics.
- GenresPoliticsNonfiction
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 3, 2018
Somewhat dated ( I read it in 2018 after it sat around the house) and simple look at long-term trends affecting U.S. politics and a little on longer-term trends. Very much from a Chicago-based trader's perspective even though it posits a needed and great equilibrium between the liberal and conservative traditions in America. Officially even-handed, but really from a conservative perspective, or at least somewhere in the spectrum of mid-western, upper class traditions. That said, if you've never thought about any of this and slept through your history, social studies, and/or civics classes, then this isn't a bad intro to looking at the to-and-fro of elections and possible influences on them and how they reflect society at large. Marred by too much simplification, rosy-tinted descriptions of how economics and politics interact, and maybe even just plain stereotypes. Can't quite tell, but it felt more like an elongated speech than a true analysis of why we elect whom we elect.
September 21, 2008
His larger point is fairly basic and the book is an easy read. Looking at the Executive Branch throughout American history one sees long trends that this guy Stoken calls paradigms where a President sets a tone that casts a long shadow across the future. He dubs Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Jackson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Coolidge, Roosevelt and Reagan the nine overall trend-setters. The Jacksonian period is the easiest to see: from 1836-1860 no one was re-elected and 2 presidents died, so you have 8 presidents in 24 years who either wanted to be Jackson or were compared to Jackson whether they liked it or not. Jackson cut a stripe that endured.
Within this long shadow is a general cultural move between a laissez faire, entrepreneurial driven economy paradigm (Republican) to a period of cultural re-ordering by social justice (Democrats). The larger realization is that right wing policies work until the people get too stupid and clog up the system (with their unpaid mortgages and credit default swaps, for example), and left wing policies sway us back toward protecting the downtrodden within the economy through 'social justice'. Left wing policies work until the citizenry's productive capacity goes underutilized causing prices, unemployment and crime to rise, and right wing policies sway us back toward the cultural perversity that comes from rising production (oh yes, we're much weirder when we're richer). Its an ebb and flow that plays out over decades and sometimes doesn't at all conform to this guy's model. But oh well.
There are other undercurrents at work but this is the sort of book that goes from the hunter/gatherer period to the Industrial Revolution in 2 paragraphs so there's nothing too in-depth at work. It was an interesting read and I generally agreed with his broad paradigm-labeling. Thumbs up if you're up for a quick overview of American electoral history.
Within this long shadow is a general cultural move between a laissez faire, entrepreneurial driven economy paradigm (Republican) to a period of cultural re-ordering by social justice (Democrats). The larger realization is that right wing policies work until the people get too stupid and clog up the system (with their unpaid mortgages and credit default swaps, for example), and left wing policies sway us back toward protecting the downtrodden within the economy through 'social justice'. Left wing policies work until the citizenry's productive capacity goes underutilized causing prices, unemployment and crime to rise, and right wing policies sway us back toward the cultural perversity that comes from rising production (oh yes, we're much weirder when we're richer). Its an ebb and flow that plays out over decades and sometimes doesn't at all conform to this guy's model. But oh well.
There are other undercurrents at work but this is the sort of book that goes from the hunter/gatherer period to the Industrial Revolution in 2 paragraphs so there's nothing too in-depth at work. It was an interesting read and I generally agreed with his broad paradigm-labeling. Thumbs up if you're up for a quick overview of American electoral history.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews