{"product_id":"the-politics-of-petulance-alan-wolfe-9780226679112","title":"The Politics of Petulance: America in an Age of Immaturity","description":"\u003ci\u003eHow did we get into this mess? \u003c\/i\u003eEvery morning, many Americans ask this as, with a cringe, they pick up their phones and look to see what terrible thing President Trump has just said or done. Regardless of what he's complaining about or whom he's attacking, a second question comes hard on the heels of the first: \u003ci\u003eHow on earth do we get out of this?\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Alan Wolfe has an answer. In \u003ci\u003eThe Politics of Petulance\u003c\/i\u003e he argues that the core of our problem isn't Trump himself--it's that we are mired in an age of political immaturity. That immaturity is not grounded in any one ideology, nor is it a function of age or education. It's in an abdication of valuing the character of would-be leaders; it's in a failure to acknowledge, even welcome the complexity of government and society; and it's in a loss of the ability to be skeptical without being suspicious. In 2016, many Americans were offered tantalizingly simple answers to complicated problems, and, like children being offered a lunch of Pop Rocks and Coke, they reflexively--and mindlessly--accepted. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The good news, such as it is, is that we've been here before. Wolfe reminds us that we know how to grow up and face down Trump and other demagogues. Wolfe reinvigorates the tradition of public engagement exemplified by midcentury intellectuals such as Richard Hofstadter, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Lionel Trilling--and he draws lessons from their battles with McCarthyism and conspiratorial paranoia. Wolfe mounts a powerful case that we can learn from them to forge a new path for political intervention today. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Wolfe has been thinking and writing about American life and politics for decades. He sees this moment as one of real risk. But he's not throwing up his hands; he's bracing us. We've faced demagogues before. We can find the intellectual maturity to fight back. Yes we can. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Alan Wolfe\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 022667911X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780226679112\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Chicago Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/22\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.75lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.00d","brand":"Alan Wolfe","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43913442885887,"sku":"9780226679112","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_e42c5155-2c98-4cfe-98c3-7e559c13c897.jpg?v=1680620430","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-politics-of-petulance-alan-wolfe-9780226679112","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}