Staff Pick
The Common Good

The Common Good

Robert B. Reich
$22.95
Publication Date: February 20th, 2018
Publisher:
Knopf
ISBN:
9780525520498
Pages:
208

Staff Reviews

Robert Reich makes so much sense in this tiny but powerful book. I consider this a "must read" for Americans, and citizens of other countries, so as to understand U.S. history and the basis for values handed down from the Founding Fathers.

 

Reich, like many of us today, is worried and concerned about the direction the U.S. is heading and the direction purported by many of the current folks in the power structure of our governing bodies.  This direction, he states, takes this country away from the values and morals that are the basis of, and good for, our country and its citizens – the common good. Please read.

— Mary

Description

Robert B. Reich makes a powerful case for the expansion of America’s moral imagination. Rooting his argument in common sense and everyday reality, he demonstrates that a common good constitutes the very essence of any society or nation. Societies, he says, undergo virtuous cycles that reinforce the common good as well as vicious cycles that undermine it, one of which America has been experiencing for the past five decades. This process can and must be reversed. But first we need to weigh the moral obligations of citizenship and carefully consider how we relate to honor, shame, patriotism, truth, and the meaning of leadership.

Powerful, urgent, and utterly vital, this is a heartfelt missive from one of our foremost political thinkers.

About the Author

ROBERT B. REICH is Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations and has written fifteen books, including The Work of Nations, Saving Capitalism, Supercapitalism, and Locked in the Cabinet. His articles have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. He is co-creator of the award-winning documentary Inequality for All and of the Netflix documentary Saving Capitalism, and is co-founder of Inequality Media. He lives in Berkeley and blogs at robertreich.org.

Praise for The Common Good

“Against the grain of much liberal thinking . . . Reich’s proposals would make a good starting point for a new progressive political project.” —Michael J. Sandel, The New York Times Book Review

“Very timely . . . Reich’s work is an important call for reform that should appeal to a wide audience disaffected with the status quo.” —Library Journal (starred review)

“Reich’s lucidly defining and empowering call for revitalized civic awareness—complete with an enticing list of recommended reading and discussion guide—is an ideal catalyst for book-group conversations.” —Booklist
 
“Clear-voiced and accessible.” —Publishers Weekly

“Brief but well-argued . . . a provocative essay.” —Kirkus