Everyday Freedom
eBook - ePub

Everyday Freedom

Designing the Framework for a Flourishing Society

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Everyday Freedom

Designing the Framework for a Flourishing Society

About this book

"America is in a self-reinforcing spiral of decreasing trust, confidence, and capability. [Howard] shows us how to break out of it . . . short, clear, passionate." —Jonathan Haidt, New York Times-bestselling author of  The Righteous Mind
Something basic is missing in our culture. Americans know it. Nothing much works as it should. Simple daily choices seem impossible, or fraught with peril. In the workplace, we walk on eggshells. Big projects—say, modernizing infrastructure—get stalled in years of review. Endemic social problems such as homelessness become, well, more endemic. Yet there's a glaring vacuum in the 2024 political debate—no party or candidate offers a governing vision that deals with the root causes of alienation and failure.
Everyday Freedom pinpoints the source of powerlessness that is fraying American culture and causing public failure, and offers a bold vision of simpler governing frameworks to re-empower Americans in their daily choices. It diagnoses our collective futility as resulting from the assault on authority after the 1960s that, aimed at enhancing freedom, instead created a plague of powerlessness. The teacher in the classroom, the principal in a school, the nurse in the hospital, the official in Washington, the parent on a field trip, the head of a local charity or church . . . all have their hands tied.
Who has a vision to revive hope and action? Not political leaders, who are picking the scab of resentment while social media gets rich selling distrust. (Stop the Steal! Defund the Police!) Everyday Freedom, in the tradition of Thomas Paine's "Common Sense," offers a radical vision for change: Re-empower Americans in their everyday choices. Nothing will work sensibly until Americans are free to draw on their skills, intuitions, and values when confronting daily challenges. This is the only cure to alienation—and the only way to deliver good government. Embraced by some of America's leading economists, jurists, social psychologists, and philosophers, Philip Howard's understanding of the essential role of human agency is the key to making America a fully functioning democracy again—a place where problems can be solved and positive progress can be made.

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Yes, you can access Everyday Freedom by Philip K. Howard in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Politics & International Relations & Political Philosophy. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Also by Philip K. Howard
  6. Contents
  7. Introduction
  8. I. The Human Need to Do Things Our Own Way
  9. II. Everyday Freedom Is Essential for Achievement
  10. III. Law after the 1960s: Replacing Institutional Authority with Individual Rights
  11. IV. The Architecture of Everyday Freedom
  12. V. It’s OK to Walk Away: The Flawed Assumptions of Current Law that Cause Failure and Alienation
  13. VI. Rebuilding Trust for a Flourishing Society
  14. VII. Institutional Authority Is Vital to Everyday Freedom
  15. VIII. Community Responsibility and Social Cohesion
  16. IX. The Freedom to Save Ourselves
  17. Notes
  18. Acknowledgments
  19. About the Author