Patriotism and Other Mistakes
by George Kateb

George Kateb has been one of the most respected and influential political theorists of the last quarter century. His work stands apart from that of many of his contemporaries and resists easy summary. In these essays, Kateb often admonishes himself, in Socratic fashion, to keep political argument as far as possible negative: to be willing to assert what we are not, and what we will not do, and to build modestly from there some account of what we are and what we ought to do. Drawing attention to the non-rational character of many motives that drive people to construct and maintain a political order, he urges greater vigilance in political life and cautions against 'mistakes' not usually acknowledged as such. Patriotism is one such mistake, too often resulting in terrible brutality and injustices. He asks us to consider how commitments to ideals of religion, nation, race, ethnicity, manliness, and courage find themselves in the service of immoral ends, and he exhorts us to remember the dignity of the individual. The book is divided into three sections. In the first, Kateb discusses the expansion of state power (including such topics as surveillance) and the justifications for war recently made by American policy makers. The second section offers essays in moral psychology, and the third comprises fresh interpretations of major thinkers in the tradition of political thought, from Socrates to Arendt.

ISBN:0521025818 Paperback: 425 pages
Cambridge University Press
20 April 2006

Price: S$72

Why modern China has been unable to institutionalize democracy is a long-standing topic of debate and the ultimate subject of this book. The greatest momentum for democracy, Edmund Fung contends, emerged between 1929 and 1949 with civil opposition to the one-party rule of the Guomindang. This analysis of China's liberal intellectuals and political activists who pursued democracy in the 1930s and 1940s, fills a gap in the historical literature on the period between May Fourth Radicalism and the Chinese Communists' accession to power. Fung argues that the reasons the growth of democracy was thwarted during this period were ultimately more political than cultural. The Nationalist era contained the germs of a reformist, liberal order, which was prevented from growing by party politics, a lack of regime leadership, and bad strategic decisions. The legacy of China's liberal thinkers can be seen, however, in the pro-democracy movement of the post-Mao period.

This book begins with an eye-opening exploration of the rise of China's economy and an assessment of its potential for further rapid growth. The implications of China's new power are nothing short of profound, Reed Hundt contends, and he proceeds to paint a detailed landscape of the new reality confronting American businesses and citizens. For the first time in over one hundred years, Americans face critical challenges to their economy and way of life owing not only to China's impending economic might but also to the drift of U.S. business practices and government regulations over the past decade. Aiming for a respectable defeat in the competition of nations will imperil not only the American Dream of an ever-increasing standard of living but also the American project itself, Hundt warns. Meeting the foreseeable challenges is not a matter of legislative strategy from the political left or right or prescriptive plans for businesses. The best chance for Americans to lead the world in job and wealth creation lies in an expanded and renewed culture of entrepreneurship. Hundt reviews the lessons of the 1990s, when the architectures of law, technology, and leadership produced a robust culture of entrepreneurship, and analyses how entrepreneurship is being undermined today. He challenges Americans to do what they do best - adapt, invent, innovate, take risks - and points the way for us to reinvigorate the entrepreneurial society.