America the Virtuous: The Crisis of Democracy and the Quest for Empire

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Summary: Does anyone here know anything about the real Jacobin?
Review: These reviews are so weird here. Does anyone question Ryn's use of the word Jacobin ? Does anyone here know what a Jacobin is ? The Jacobins describe a group of clubs in France that originally supported a constitutional monarchy, then, when Louis XVI proved unwillingly to submit to a constitution, these clubs supported a democratic republic. The group then split into two opposing halves, the Girondists and the Mountain. The former where moderates, the latter, the winners, the radical republicans from which the Terror eventually came. After the Terror, the Jacobins were disbanded, but allowed to reform after a while. But then Napoleon came along, the Jacobins opposed him and again, the clubs were disbanded. But it has to be remembered that the Jacobins were the original group agitating for the three cardinals of French enlightment: fraternity, liberty, equality. I don't see these American neocons agitating for those causes, but for the opposite causes, albeit they mask their fascistic tendencies under the cloak of American values. And it is good to remember that the Jacobin started out agitating for a legaslative body, the National Assembly, that would work with the king, and only when the king and his supporters kept thwarting the Assembly's efforts did the regime turn bloody. And it is good to remember that if America were not separated from England by the ocean, the American Revolution could have been as equally bloody. The English themselves went through such a bloody revolution with the overthrow of the Stuarts and the establishment of the Commonwealth, which included beheading the king. And it is also good to remember that the founders of America were as inspired by Enlightment thought as the French were and weren't only protesting over the loss of age old Engligh gentleman's rights. If I were Ryn, I would have used the term neo-fascist to describe what Shrub and his associates are doing, both in American and abroad, not neo-Jacobin. His understanding of the intricacies of the French revolution seems shallow.

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Summary: This you have to read !
Review: This book is getting attention, but everybody should read it! It might even arrest the slide of America into decadence and totalitarianism. This is the best I've seen on the crisis of American society. I could not stop reading. The book gets to the bottom of it all. It's no coincidence that American society and the constitution are falling apart while our government is busy improving other countries. Having read this book I feel that I understand the heart of the problem. I wish many more people did,then we might have a chance to avert national suicide. Don't lose any time,read this book!

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Summary: As good as its reputation
Review: This book is written for scholars of political science, not for casual readers or the anti-establishment. Claes Ryn describes a movement throughout Western politics that he calls the neo-Jacobins. The neo-Jacobins bear a resemblance to Rousseau in the sense that (1) they advocate the eradication of tradition and political and individual restraint, (2) their morality is such that they are always right, and anyone who opposes them is wrong. Neo-Jacobin thinking permeates through intellectual elites who stand to gain power from the two points above. The one criticism I have is that his description of the Jacobins may not be taken seriously because it comes across as a "conspiracy." In fact, it is not a conspiracy, and many of the Jacobins are not aware that they are or have not thought carefully about where they stand. Still, such a manner of presentation may discourage serious readers from accepting his views.

Rating:
Summary: Easily misunderstood but groundbreaking
Review: This book is written for scholars of political science, not for casual readers or the anti-establishment. Claes Ryn describes a movement throughout Western politics that he calls the neo-Jacobins. The neo-Jacobins bear a resemblance to Rousseau in the sense that (1) they advocate the eradication of tradition and political and individual restraint, (2) their morality is such that they are always right, and anyone who opposes them is wrong. Neo-Jacobin thinking permeates through intellectual elites who stand to gain power from the two points above. The one criticism I have is that his description of the Jacobins may not be taken seriously because it comes across as a "conspiracy." In fact, it is not a conspiracy, and many of the Jacobins are not aware that they are or have not thought carefully about where they stand. Still, such a manner of presentation may discourage serious readers from accepting his views.