A Tolerable Anarchy: Rebels, Reactionaries, and the Making of American Freedom
Justin Miller Award Recipient
Natalie Bedoya
Justin Miller Award Category
Intellectual Curiosity
Justin Miller Award Date
2010
Description
In A Tolerable Anarchy, Jedediah Purdy traces the history of the American understanding of freedom, an ideal that has inspired the country’s best—and worst—moments, from independence and emancipation to war and economic uncertainty. Working from portraits of famous American lives, like Frederick Douglas and Ralph Waldo Emerson, Purdy asks crucial questions about our relationship to liberty: Does capitalism perfect or destroy freedom? Does freedom mean following tradition, God’s word, or one’s own heart? Can a nation of individuals also be a community of citizens? This is history that speaks plainly to our lives today, urging readers to explore our understanding of our country and ourselves, and a provocative look at one of America’s cherished principles.
Publisher
Alfred A. Knopf
Publication Date
2009
ISBN
9781400044474