Home - Cambridge Scholars Publishing

How American Politics Works: Philosophy, Pragmatism, Personality and Profit
Author: Richard J. Gelm
Date Of Publication: Nov 2008
Isbn13: 978-1-4438-0006-8
Isbn: 1-4438-0006-6
American politics is criticized and belittled by media critics and the public, yet the system is held out as a model for the world. The paradox of this simultaneous cynicism and adulation is rooted in the conflict between the human motives that drive politics.

Crisply and clearly written with numerous historical examples, How American Politics Works explains the complex and sometimes confusing American political system in a vibrant and accessible light. Documented with recent and historical scholarship presented clearly in laymen’s terms, How American Politics Works explores the multiple dimensions of politics and the source of Americans’ disillusionment with their government through the “four Ps”: Philosophy, Pragmatism, Personality and Profit.

Philosophical and moral principles underpin the key political institutions in America, but values are challenged in the quest to achieve workable political solutions. Policy is rarely made to conform to lofty principles alone. It often results from short-term incremental compromise, driven by people in pursuit of the public good and their own personal self-interest and profit. How American Politics Works explains the inner workings of the American political system, including the power of ideas, political compromise, powerful personalities and the preeminent position of money.

While Americans’ high ideals are often illusive in the rough and tumble of political battles, and the public’s trust is bruised with every political scandal, balancing idealism and individual virtue with ambition and self-interest is the dynamic and safeguard of American politics. How American Politics Works offers a comprehensive presentation of the realities, challenges and possibilities of the American political system to bring an understanding, fascination and dedication to the wider public.

Richard J. Gelm is Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Department of History and Political Science at the University of La Verne in Southern California. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. in political science from the University of California, Davis and his B.A. in political science from the University of California, San Diego. He is the author of Politics and Religious Authority: American Catholics Since the Second Vatican Council and has teaching and research interests in American Government, Political Behavior, Voting and Elections, Congress and the American Presidency. In his leisure time he pursues his passion for baseball and travel. He has travelled across all fifty American states and Europe.

“This is a splendid book and one that should be fully utilized by everyone with an interest in politics and our governing system.”

—Former United States Senator George McGovern, Ph.D. in History, Northwestern University

Price Uk Gbp: 34.99
Price Us Usd: 52.99

Sample pdf (including Table of Contents)

We recommend

Music
Sonic Mediations: Body, Sound, Technology

Education
Between the Two: A Nomadic Inquiry into Collaborative Writing and Subjectivity

Cultural Studies
James Bond in World and Popular Culture: The Films are Not Enough, Second Edition

Interesting reviews

From Kerouac Ascending: Memorabilia of the Decade of On the Road

“Katherine Burkman, best known for her contributions to Harold Pinter, Samuel Beckett, and modern drama studies in general, now provides an essential reference for students of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and the beats through this memoir by Elbert Lenrow. A beloved teacher at the New School for Social Research, Lenrow met and taught Jack Kerouac in the late forties, befriending him and Allen Ginsberg as well. The book offers unprecedented insight into the beats in general and Kerouac’s development as a writer, thinker, and cultural force in American literature. Howard Cunnell, who introduces the book, notes that through his friendship with Kerouac, ‘Lenrow got to ride in what would become the most famous car in modern American literature.’ And thanks to this book, now readers of Kerouac Ascending do, too.”
—Ann C. Hall, Professor, Ohio Dominican University; President, Harold Pinter Society

“The larger significance of the sustained and sustaining friendship between Elbert Lenrow and Kerouac and Ginsberg in this book is that it exhibits Jack and Allen in ways that are seldom, if ever, represented in accounts of their lives. As a bonus, from this fine, small book, the reader can acquire an enriched and enhanced understanding of the multifarious political, literary, and artistic relationships of virtually all the principal players in the cultural scene in the mid- to late 20th century.”
—James L. Battersby, Professor Emeritus of English, Ohio State University

“Always their affectionate elder, Lenrow presents Kerouac and Ginsberg mostly in their own words, making no broad claim or judgments beyond the recognition that both writers spoke for their time as Walt Whitman did for his and that they have become iconic figures for a literary movement. It is a modest but important work presenting original materials saved by a gentle, sensitive, and literate man.”
—Mark S. Auburn, Professor Emeritus of English, former Senior Vice President and Provost at the University of Akron