Title

Attack on Government: Fear, Distrust and Hatred in Public Life

About the book

Distrust of government and a sense that government has failed are central features of public life in America.  Why is this so? If we define government simply as a locus or instrument of power, as a method for collective decision-making, or as a means of mediating struggles over resources, the simple answer is that the prevailing attitude toward government is nothing more than a reality-based response to what government has actually becomeirresponsible, self-interested, corrupt, overly powerful.

    But now, in this profound and searching study, David P. Levine, a highly regarded scholar with deep roots both in traditional modes of political thought and psychodynamic theory, argues we need to consider a reality distinct from, if related to, the one with which we are most familiar and take for granted. Government also must be seen as a repository of moral and psychic meaning.

    The question then becomes not, why does government fail? but why do we want and need our government to fail? Why do we want and need it to be too powerful, and to be corrupt in its power? Why do we need to have a government deserving of our contempt? And, finally, why do we need our government to be a suitable target for our fear and hatred?

    Examining our cultural and political landscape through a sharply-focused psychoanalytic lens, Levine answers these questions and offers insight into other related features of the way we experience government in America. He considers such topics as the moral standing of government, the free market ideal, the ideal of enhanced democracy, the demand for justice, the abuse of power, the demand for justice, and the role of hatred in public life.

    Provocatively concluding that the special relationship which develops between government and the fantasy lives of its citizens is what makes governing so difficult, Levines elucidating study is for anyone who ever wanted to understand the psychological realities of an average Americans love of country and hatred of government. 

About the author

David P. Levine is a professor of economics at the University of Denver and author of nine books, including Wealth and Freedom: An Introduction to Political Economy and Normative Political Economy: Subjective Freedom, the Market, and the State.

Advance praise
"Anyone interested in the strange state we find ourselves in today, depending so much on the government we love to hate, will profit from Levine's fascinating book."
   —C. Fred Alford, University of Maryland, College Park

"Attack on Government is a searching examination of the psychodynamics of American public life. Anyone interested in the fate of the American experiment would do well to read this study of the hold the unconscious has on public experience and action."
   —Howard F. Stein, University of Oklahoma

"Levine's insights will help to explain America's contemporary paradox in articulating an appropriate and effective role for government in the 21st century and in coping with the continued human security threats of new terrorism and the political and economic challenges of globalization."  
   —Michael A. Diamond, University of Missouri, Columbia

Contents
Introduction. The Problem of Character. A Fantasy about Government. The People and Their Government. The Place of Hatred in Public Life. Abuse of Power. The Free Market Solution. The Democratic Solution. Citizenship and Difference. Demanding Justice. The Closed System. Afterword. Acknowledgments. Notes. References. Index.

ISBN:            0-9728875-4-7

Price:          $24.95 (hardcover)

Pages:         270

Trim size:    6x9