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The Next American Civil War: The Populist Revolt Against the Liberal Elite Kindle Edition

by Lee Harris (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 37 ratings
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The tea parties, the guns at town hall meetings, the protests against health care reform, and the general unrest in America today have taken many people by surprise. Some interpret it in terms of economic hard times, but Lee Harris offers a different explanation. Today's populist revolt is only the latest installment of an ongoing cultural war that began long before the current economic crisis. It is a rebellion against a self-appointed intellectual elite whose attitude to the average American is "Don't worry, we know what is best for you." For Harris, the stakes in the current struggle are high: Will America be ruled by ivory tower liberals, or will it remain the land in which ordinary men and women are free to make their own choices and control their own destinies?

Throughout our history, Americans have always challenged the definition of liberty, and this has allowed us to progress as a society. Harris argues that this debate is good and necessary, and that we must take this new populist uprising seriously if we are to defend our founding principles. A masterly and visionary work that weaves current events with philosophical investigation, The Next American Civil War rethinks Americans' most elemental ideas of freedom in order to enable the people of the United States to face the challenges of our times.

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  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    St. Martin's Press
  5. Publication date
    May 11, 2010
  6. File size
    450 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for The Next American Civil War:

"The Next American Civil War is an intellectual defense of a rebellion against intellectuals."--Commentary "Lee Harris examines this critical juncture in American history and offers some back-to-basics advice on preserving our unprecedented spirit of liberty and exceptional national character."--Pajamas Media

Praise for The Suicide of Reason:

“Harris’s book is so engaging that it is difficult to put down, and its haunting assessments make it difficult for a reader to sleep at night. He deserves praise for raising serious questions.” --The New York Times Book Review

Praise for Civilization and Its Enemies:

“[A] startlingly original and visionary work, Civilization and Its Enemies aims at nothing less than providing the vocabulary and theory for political thinking post-al-Qaida." -- Salon

About the Author

Lee Harris is the author of the critically acclaimed The Suicide of Reason: Radical Islam’s Threat to the West and Civilization and Its Enemies: The Next Stage of History. A frequent contributor to Policy Review, The Weekly Standard, The New Atlantis, The Wall Street Journal’s "Opinion Journal," and TCSDaily.com, he has become one of the most sought-after commentators on the post-9/11 epoch. He lives in Stone Mountain, GA.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003QP3NEG
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press (May 11, 2010)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 11, 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 450 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 37 ratings

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Lee Harris

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
37 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Michael B. Dipietro
5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific read
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2010
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I couldn't put the book down once I strated reading. It put into vivid historical context so much of what has been dominating the evening news, talk radio programs, and cable news programs over the past year or so. Harris writes about all of this very clearly and concisely for the general reader yet also displays great intellectual and philosphical knowledge and insight at the same time. He is everything one could want in a public intellectual. In this book (I have previously read two others by this author) Harris explains the nature and significance of the "tea party" movement as the latest phase in the evolution of America's redefining and grapling with it's notions of liberty. He sees this all as part of a dynamic and creative process the consequences of which are of the upmost importance. Simply put we are currently witnessing the latest populist revolt against elitist authority in American History. What's different this time is that the revolt is a conservative uprising against authority and not a left wing one. This is a revolt which strives to maintain something which is perceived as being lost as the government in Washington grasps greater and greater overweening powers in the name of doing good for and serving those who it believes are incapable of deciding for themselves what is good for them. This is all within the grand tradition of grassroots American political movemetns except that the actors have reversed roles. And that's what makes something seemingly very old in actually something quite new. How will it all play out? Read this book and gain at least a better and more contextaulized perspective on what's at stake.
73 people found this helpful
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Donald Allen
5.0 out of 5 stars Watch out Dems
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2019
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This book explains how possible it is we could end up in a civil war.
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Jay81
4.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting Read
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2010
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I read this book from cover to cover and found it pretty interesting, although it wasn't quite what I expected from the title. Nevertheless, I'm going to give it four stars. I enjoy history so I liked the historical aspects of the book and the discussion on the beliefs of Edmund Burke, John Locke, Thomas Paine, et al. I follow current events pretty closely so this author didn't really address any of the concerns that I have about the direction that our country is headed. It was more philosophical.

Anyone at all conversant with current events knows that there is a populist revolt going on against the so-called liberal elite and that it isn't just a conservative vs. liberal issue or a democrat vs. republican issue. It is a genuine culture war against establishment thinking. The book gives a pretty good account of how liberals think and act. There was nothing new here since you can obtain a good knowledge of how liberals think and act from the multitude of websites, blogs and editorials. I think we all understand that there is a vast gulf between the liberalism of today and that of classical liberalism of a century ago. We know that liberals see human beings as being chiefly good, rather than as flawed beings. We know that liberals are driven by idealogy and agenda, often to the point that they are thought to be absolutely clueless about the world they are living in.

Even after reading this book, I am not quite sure of the position of Mr. Harris. Does he relate more to the liberal elite or the 'natural libertarian', as he seems to view conservatives.

I consider myself to be a political independant. I vote conservative in the primaries and republican in the general election simply because the democrats have removed themselves as a viable consideration (I don't really have a very high opinion of republicans, either). I don't wish to rant, but it occurs to me that 'elite' is an inaccurate term in which to refer to liberals. The liberal philosophy is not that of a survivalist. For example, they have a mindset against defending themselves. They carry environmentalism to an extreme. They concentrate themselves in large cities. They refuse to see that the world is a very dangerous place and that Islam is more than simply a religion. In just about every area, they reveal themselves to be more 'defective' in their beliefs than 'elitist'.

We read much about the world running out of energy sources. And it takes energy to produce food. So, environmentalism is an anti-survivalist point of view. EMPs, nuclear weapons or a natural disaster could destroy our infrastructure in an instant. Extreme social unrest would follow and the government could not do a thing to prevent it. Look back to the social unrest in New Orleans during hurricane Katrina as a prime example of the governments inability to protect its citizens.

The conservative mindset leans more toward survivalism. They tend to be gun owners, hunters and outdoors people. Many of them have begun storing food and emergency supplies. They tend to live in 'small town America', away from the large metropolitian areas. And since they view government with suspicion, they tend to be more self-reliant. In an out-and-out survival situation, who would be more apt to survive -- the liberal elite or the 'natural libertarian', the Harvard college professor or the conservative working man?

America may not have another civil war but that doesn't mean that the liberal elite will be the winner. Survival of the fittest just doesn't seem to fit the liberal mindset in spite of their insistence that Darwin was right.
17 people found this helpful
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Richard M. Hutson, MD
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2016
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Another worthwhile tome by Lee Harris (see his earlier "The Suicide of Reason").
A book both thoughtful, and thought-provoking.
One person found this helpful
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F. M. Ruiz
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Thought Experiment
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2019
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Starting reading this book in 2016, tossed it aside as self serving blather, but was forced out of desperation for reading material to finish it in 2019. There is some predated insight into the election of Trump. Many of the attributes Harris wrongly attributed to the popularity of Sarah Palin are spot on when applied to Trump. But Harris has a fundamental misunderstanding of the issue at hand. He encourages “walking in the shoes of another”, which is wonderful advice until it is applied to the Statist philosophy which seeks only to dominate and grow itself....with singular focus and relentless tactics. This is a philosophical journey with no true sense of history or truth.
7 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2015
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Yet another winner for Lee - I sometimes lose track of where he's going but he always tie a fanciful knot!
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Russell Brown
1.0 out of 5 stars Liberal Elite Author doesn't like freedom
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2010
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While trying to cover both conservative and liberal viewpoints, this author reveals his true nature. I made it through a couple of chapters then threw it in the trash. What is so offensive about people making decisions for themselves? We don't need an elite group of individuals making decisions for every aspect of our lives. We are, and will remain, a free people.
3 people found this helpful
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BAnnE
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2017
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Great book- arrived on time. Happy with it.
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Top reviews from other countries

Blair
5.0 out of 5 stars More than a Tea Party, an Inquiry into Western Liberty
Reviewed in Canada on May 17, 2014
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Lee Harris presents a wide ranging and balanced exploration of the roots of the culture war now raging in America and elsewhere, despite the unfortunately provocative title. The author is a gay intellectual living in the heart of conservative rural Georgia, and his book can be seen as a celebration of contradictions. The thesis is that the significance of the current “Tea Party” populist revolt cannot be properly understood simply by its own slogans and stated ideals. Beyond its apparently narrow appeal to self-interest, the author sees in it the current phase in a long struggle for personal liberty. To explore this idea, we are led on a journey through western history and philosophy, from ancient Athens to medieval England and modern America.

The author presents two different views of the origin of liberty. According to John Locke or Thomas Jefferson, liberty was seen as the natural birthright of all mankind, an inherent right or entitlement. This is an example of idealism, where reality is meant to conform to a pre-determined abstract ideal. And where does this ideal come from? Locke and Jefferson would say from God, while modern idealists with no god have no answer. Idealism amounts to blind faith, with or without a deity to enforce it, and it tends to produce simplistic solutions.

In contrast to idealism, Edmond Burke and Thomas Hobbes argued that liberty could only flourish among those determined to preserve and cherish the rights and privileges that had been won for them by earlier generations. They claimed we only have as much freedom as we can claim and defend for ourselves. Thus the abstract concept of liberty is seen as arising from a complex history and series of social relationships. Preserving it requires careful stewardship, and attempts to tinker with it based on simplistic ideals are viewed with suspicion. This is usually considered to be a conservative viewpoint. But it is also the only evidence-based, evolutionary way to analyze history. No external guiding hand is required.

Today liberals claim the mantle of evidence-based reasoning. This is one of many examples in history of liberals and conservatives swapping beliefs. Conservatives used to be elitists, opposed to dangerous populism. Now they claim to be the populists. Liberals used to champion the liberty of the individual against the state, but now look to the state to remedy society’s ills. So don’t bother asking if the author (or anyone else, for that matter) is left/liberal or right/conservative. It has little real meaning. Look at the ideas presented on their own merits.

Idealism leads directly to its political offshoot utopianism, designing the perfect society based on those unquestioned ideals. As Harris so memorably puts it, “If religion is the opium of the people, utopianism is the methamphetamine of the intellectual.” The problem is the intellectual can underestimate the complexity of society, especially if blinded by idealistic assumptions. Harris points out, “If intellectuals shared the ideas and values of the average person, they would not be intellectuals in the first place.”

“The essence of every Utopia is the same: the dictatorship of the intellectual, less brutal than traditional thugs, but is potentially far more deadly to human freedom.” The modern liberal state is dedicated to making life better for its citizens. Psychology shows that choices are not as free or rational as people think they are. People often make poor choices. Therefore the expert intellectuals need to nudge citizens to do the right thing. We end up treating everyone like children, with the experts in control.

Now we can see the Tea Party as a reaction against citizens losing control over their lives. Harris sees this rebellion as a positive force, though he clearly spells out its limitations. “Populists have a simplistic understanding of how the world works, are attracted to demagogues and charlatans, believe in a quick fix. They fall prey to paranoid fears, attributing problems to conspiracies of wicked men wanting to turn them into slaves. Their resistance seems out of proportion to the problem.”

But it always has been this way in history. For example, the Athenian democracy executed Socrates for what we might today call speaking truth to power, and launched disastrous wars that led to the ruin of the city. Leading intellectuals such as Plato and Aristotle opposed democracy and correctly predicted its consequences. But that attempt at democracy eventually led to the liberty in western societies.

The events that led to the American Revolution also do not look quite so glorious when examined in detail. The response to a reasonable tax to help pay for the wars Britain fought to defend the colonies would be described today as terrorism. Yet this resulted in the birth of American democracy.

Complexity and contradiction are the consequences of thinking in historical context. Thus we must acknowledge that there are many different kinds of freedoms, and not all of them are compatible with one another. As societies become more civilized, freedom is curtailed. Thus civilization can pose a threat to freedom. Yet freedom requires civilization to protect it, and too much freedom can pose a threat to civilization. Therefore any struggle for liberty is going to have an ambiguous quality to it. Respect for the law and enthusiasm for liberty are not always compatible.

Harris wades into my territory of interest when he discusses “Scientism”, meaning reductionism and determinism. This leads to a new form of fatalism, justifying rule by a new elite class of experts with special knowledge. I view scientism as the corruption of science by idealism. Unfortunately, in practice Harris has it right. He really has a way driving home a provocative point, such as:

“It is far better for children to reject Darwin’s theory of evolution because they cannot believe we came from monkeys than to teach them to repeat the theory by rote as if we were descended from parrots.”

Ouch. Lets ignore the judgment word “better”. This is the reality of how science is usually taught, as indoctrination into yet another faith. The solution is to first teach logical thought and scientific method, then introduce subjects such as evolution or climate change if and when the students are ready for them. But who will teach the scientifically illiterate, faith-ridden teachers?

On the question of faith, Harris addresses religion strictly from the point of view of its effect on the actions of the believers. He refers to it as a “Cosmic Script”, which defines our place in the universe. Most religions act as what Marx called an opiate for the masses, either because ones place in society is divinely ordained, or the only point of living is to enter the next world. The one exception is the Hebrew religion, which offers defiance, rebellion and revolt. He makes an interesting case that it is the Old Testament that animates many Western challenges to authority. It is Moses who set his people free, not Jesus.

I will let Harris himself write the conclusion of this review:

“The question before us is whether we can still find the wisdom and good sense to strike a satisfactory balance between liberty and civilization when confronted with the unprecedented challenges of the twenty first century. For it is an illusion to think that the tension between civilization and liberty can ever be fully resolved, or that there is some method that we can settle for once and for all exactly how much liberty we must give up for the sake of civilization, or how much civilization we must forego for the sake of liberty. That is a conundrum that each generation must puzzle out for itself – not at the level of theory but at the level of day-to-day practical reality.”

This is hardly an incitement to fight the Next Civil War. The strength of this book follows from its deep historical perspective, and the absence of abstract, simplistic statements of belief. Contradictions are seen as a fundamental part of reality. One can argue he downplays the influence of vested interests on the Tea Party, and ignores the religious fundamentalist side of it. But today’s parochial politics are only a small part of this exploration of the basis of western civilization and its freedom. I strongly recommend it.
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nosredna
1.0 out of 5 stars Great Title; Flatters To Deceive
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 25, 2010
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This looked promising, given the title and its subtitle. What a dreadful disappointment when one goes further. It rambles sometimes aimlessly through two thousand years of history and political philosophy, aiming to illustrate themes which relate to what the author describes as the tension between the "self-appointed liberal intellectuals" and the "ornery Joe six-pack" groups, in order to explain the current populist conservative uprising in the USA. In this, it fails almost completely . I can't imagine either the "Joe six-packs" or the intellectuals will enjoy (or even finish) it.
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