Today on Point of View, Kerby chats with author and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, James Piereson. The Manhattan Institute is a think tank whose mission is to develop and disseminate new ideas that foster greater economic choice and individual responsibility. Piereson discusses his book, Shattered Consensus: The Rise and Decline of America’s Postwar Political Order.
In the second hour, Kerby will continue the discussion on the 2016 presidential race. Join the conversation, call our studio at 800-351-1212.
Author | Senior Fellow - Manhattan Institute
James Piereson is a Manhattan Institute senior fellow, director of the Institute’s Center for the American University, and president and trustee of the William E. Simon Foundation. During 1985–2005, he was executive director and trustee of the John M. Olin Foundation. Previously, Piereson served on the political science faculties of Iowa State University, Indiana University, and the University of Pennsylvania, where he taught government and political thought. He serves on the boards of the Pinkerton Foundation, Thomas W. Smith Foundation, Center for Individual Rights, Philanthropy Roundtable (where he was chairman, 1995–99), Foundation for Cultural Review (as chairman), American Spectator Foundation, Hoover Institution, and DonorsTrust.
Shattered Consensus: The Rise and Decline of America’s Postwar Political Order
The United States has been shaped by three sweeping political revolutions: Jefferson’s “revolution of 1800,” the Civil War, and the New Deal. Each of these upheavals concluded with lasting institutional and cultural adjustments that set the stage for a new phase of political and economic development. Are we on the verge of another upheaval, a “fourth revolution” that will reshape U.S. politics for decades to come? There are signs to suggest that we are.
James Piereson describes the inevitable political turmoil that will overtake the United States in the next decade as a consequence of economic stagnation, the unsustainable growth of government, and the exhaustion of postwar arrangements that formerly underpinned American prosperity and power.