We Can't Go Home Again

We Can't Go Home Again

The 2016 election season is certain to launch a plethora of books explaining how Donald J. Trump won the Republican Party’s nomination for the presidency. They will be written by analysts and academics, sorting through data and trends that explain how a black swan candidacy could prove so successful. They will blame conservative talk radio, online extremism, Fox News, the political establishment, the donor class, the debates, reality television, and the rise of the Kardashians among other causes. They may even venture, as some early commentaries already have, to blame those Americans who actually voted for Mr. Trump for everything that’s gone wrong—adopting Bertolt Brecht’s suggestion that it would be easier to dissolve the people and elect another.

Unfortunately for all the authors rushing to finish those books by Inauguration Day, Yuval Levin has beaten them to the punch. The Fractured Republic was composed prior to the success of Trumpism, in some ways making it an even more insightful commentary on why this political earthquake transpired. Levin’s book may not be the only work you need to read to understand the origins of Trump’s success, but I believe it will prove the most essential. It describes, with compassion and empathy, the failings of a nation that has combined the twin dangers of extreme individualism and centralized governance while ignoring the frustrations of the working class. Levin tells where we have been as a nation, where we are, and why so many people are eager to shrug off the benefits of globalization in a Quixotic effort to get back to where we were.

Read Full Article »
Comment
Show commentsHide Comments

Related Articles