Freedom and Federalism

by Felix Morley

Despite the centralizing tendencies of the American national government in the twentieth century, there have been surprisingly few books defending the federal system. Felix Morley’s Freedom and Federalism, which examines the root causes of the problem, was thus a pioneering achievement when it first appeared in 1959. No less relevant today, the book provides a perceptive diagnosis of the collapse of States’ rights in modern America; and it seeks the restoration of a constitutional balance between central and state authorities. Is federalism worth saving? “Its outstanding virtue,” which is “the distinctively American contribution to political art,” argues Morley, “is its facility in combining two naturally antagonistic conditions―the social condition of order, and the more personal condition of freedom.” In the end, he concludes, the American government will fail unless these two conditions are reconciled. Felix Morley (1894–1982), Pulitzer-Prize-winning author, journalist, and educator, was a Rhodes Scholar, editor of the Washington Post and Human Events, and President of Haverford College.

Genres: History

352 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1981

Reviews

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A political science professor at Missouri State University recommended Felix Morley's Freedom and Federalism to me in about 2001 as a great book that really explores the federal nature of our republic. I immediately bought the book, but it sat on my shelf for the next 18 or 19 years. I finally picked it up last winter. It has never taken me so long to read 240 pages, but this book has really made me think. I understand federalism so much better for having read it, but it also had me thinking so much about the importance of localizing democracy and protecting larger society from the tyranny of majoritarian democracy. The only way to do this is to strengthen local control and limit nationalized control to specific powers. Federalism! The founders were genius! And Felix Morley was so good at exploring all of it.

Sidenote: Morley’s distaste for Rousseau makes me happy.

[Craig Bolton]

FREEDOM AND FEDERALISM by FELIX MORLEY (1981)

[Nathan Bizeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Non-Fiction Book of the Year for 2019.