Beyond Red and Blue: How Twelve Political Philosophies Shape American Debates

by Peter S. Wenz

Why Americans do not divide neatly into red and blue or right and left but form coalitions across party lines on hot-button issues ranging from immigration to same-sex marriage. On any given night cable TV news will tell us how polarized American politics Republicans are from Mars, Democrats are from Canada. But in fact, writes Peter Wenz in Beyond Red and Blue , Americans do not divide neatly into two ideological camps of red/blue, Republican/Democrat, right/left. In real life, as Wenz shows, different ideologies can converge on certain issues; people from the right and left can support the same policy for different reasons. Thus, for example, libertarian-leaning Republicans can oppose the Patriot Act's encroachment on personal freedom and social conservatives can support gay marriage on the grounds that it strengthens the institution of marriage. Wenz maps out twelve political philosophies—ranging from theocracy and free-market conservatism to feminism and cosmopolitanism—on which Americans draw when taking political positions. He then turns his focus to some of America's most controversial issues and shows how ideologically diverse coalitions can emerge on such hot-button topics as extending life by artificial means, the war on drugs, the war on terrorism, affirmative action, abortion, same-sex marriage, health care, immigration, and globalization. Awareness of these twelve political philosophies, Wenz argues, can help activists enlist allies, citizens better understand politics and elections, and all of us define our own political identities.

Genres: Politics, Philosophy, Nonfiction

386 pages, Paperback

First published February 13, 2009

Reviews

[Steve Rauscher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another CCP Honors Curriculum book bites the dust in its fullness.

This is a surprisingly fun project for how clinical the writing is. Wenz has a great handle on contemporary American political philosophy (contemporary insomuch as the 2008 election is the afterword) and how political decisions in America have a lot more to them than simple Democrat/Republican binary arguments.

If you're not yet politically aware or - like me - want to know more about the ways that others view the world and vote for its future, give this a read. Maybe even shelve it for future reference. I did.