Rediscovering America's Values

This is a marvellous and important book that should have been read by all US residents. It presents a lengthy and deep dialog between two voices, one of them Lappe's own and the other an imagined (but heavily cited) representative of what can most succintly termed a conservative republican perspective. The book is a revelation in the sense that it is willing to consider the rather radical notion that each perspective may have a sincere, informed and consistent political philosophy behind it, and that this philosophy needs to be respected and understood. Covering almost every area of political dialog and debate, Lappe goes deep into the philosophical and practical differences between the two worldviews she presents. Never shallow, never trite, never disrespectful. In an era when its too easy to believe the worst about one's political opponents, this books offers a glimpse of a different world: not one in which its any easier to overcome the substantive and real differences of opinion, but one in which a deep recognition of how and why these differences exist is the basis for all politics. I cannot stress enough the benefits that would accrue to US society if this book was widely read. Finally a comment on the Publisher's Weekly review. Lappe is not mistaken in her use of the term "Liberal worldview" (note capitalization). The more recent use of the term "liberal" to refer to left-of-center/progressive politics is a distortion of the historical term Liberal, and since Lappe is somewhat concerned with the history of the ideas in her book, this distinction is important. Historically, the Liberal worldview is the one that traces its lineage back to Adam Smith and the Renaissance, and forward to Hayek, Friedmann and others.