On American Freedom A Critique of the Country's Core Value with a Reform Agenda

On American Freedom critiques the value of freedom as it is now manifest in America's political, economic, and cultural life in light of a more robust value of freedom coordinated around human dignity and civic participation. Drawing from historic sources as diverse as James Madison, Adam Smith, and Catherine Beecher - as well as from contemporary sources like George W. Bush and Bob Dylan - the book paints a bleak picture of this most cherished American value. At the same time, On American Freedom outlines a reform initiative that will secure a more preferred value of freedom by simply by reconfiguring the federal system to include reorganized and empowered city-states capable of serving as sites for a fuller form of freedom than Americans now enjoy.

Kenneth Morris is a writer and former professor of sociology. He currently lives in Costa Rica.

1. Introduction: The Puzzle of Freedom

2. From Republics to a National Empire

3. The Return of Feudalism

4. American Stoicism

5. A Place for Freedom