Liberty or Justice for All? cover art

Liberty or Justice for All?

A Conversation Across the American Centuries

Preview

Try for $0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Liberty or Justice for All?

Written by: Philip F. Gura
Narrated by: Adam Verner
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $22.26

Buy Now for $22.26

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Liberty or Justice for All? brings to life four of America's greatest thinkers, whose dialogue across the ages has never been more relevant. Philip F. Gura begins his nimble tale with Jonathan Edwards, a fiery preacher who insisted that God would reward those who embraced social cooperation. One generation later, the Founding Fathers grounded their own project of civic renewal in rights and freedom. But if every citizen is guaranteed life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, does this mean America is a nation where the individual reigns supreme?

America's young democracy soon found its prophet in Ralph Waldo Emerson, who preached a gospel of self-reliance, small government, and self-improvement. But with the coming of the Civil War, Emerson's triumphant individual became a cog in a vast war machine. Radical technological transformations convinced the psychologist-turned-philosopher William James that the self was more fragmented and fragile than Emerson believed. He found virtue in pluralism and diversity, seeing selfishness as the cardinal sin. Two world wars and several failed revolutions later, John Rawls, shaken by the divisions of Vietnam, sought to establish a new secular foundation for social cooperation. Over time, we have sought to hold these opposing value systems in delicate balance, promising both liberty and justice for all.

©2023 the University of Georgia Press (P)2023 Tantor
Literature & Fiction Philosophy Political Science United States War
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Liberty or Justice for All?

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.