The Myth of Left and Right

"A short, tightly argued, question-provoking ""attempt to give a more accurate conception of ideology in America and thereby correct common misunderstandings of ideology among the general public and among the intellectuals who promote these confusions,"" as they themselves put it in the book. * Michael E. Hartmann, Philanthropy Daily * Finally, an antidote to political despair in America. Using the best data and social science, Hyrum Lewis and Verlan Lewis show us why our current polarization is not inevitable and how it can be resolved. If you ever wondered if our nation can ever unite again, read The Myth of Left and Right today. * Arthur C. Brooks, Professor, Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, and #1 New York Times bestselling author * Is there a timeless ideological dimension that US political life maps onto? No! This book offers a deft, spirited deconstruction of that idea. It is an enjoyable read. * David R. Mayhew, Sterling Professor of Political Science Emeritus, Yale University * This timely book challenges entrenched ways of thinking about American politics. Even if readers do not agree with the authors on every point, they cannot ignore the powerful critiques lodged here. The authors rightfully demand that we transcend simplistic understandings of political alignments that conflate party and ideology and that fail to come to terms with how the definitions of 'right' and 'left' continually evolve over time. * Frances Lee, Professor of Politics and Public Affairs, Princeton University * An insightful dissection of the misleading notion that it is possible-without severe distortion-to reduce voters and politicians to points along a one-dimensional left-right scale. * Philip E. Tetlock, Annenberg University Professor, University of Pennsylvania * The Myth of Left and Right is a quirky but much needed book for today's conversation about how to push past our differences, disagreements, and political polarization. It is scholarly but accessible and something easily read in an afternoon. While it is short, its impact hopefully will be longer, for our Country demands such a book in a time when words like ""left"" and ""right"" are not only accusatory labels we paste onto people but, as Lewis and Lewis have shown, essentially meaningless. * Lee Trepanier, Russell Kirk Center * The Myth of Left and Right is a quirky but much needed book for today's conversation about how to push past our differences, disagreements, and political polarization. * Lee Trepanier, Chair and Professor of Political Science at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama *"