Mending the Nation - by Michael J Illuzzi (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A bold message of political hope in a time of cynicism and despair, Mending the Nation uses lessons from the past to chart a new way forward.

The United States is as divided as ever, torn apart by deeply held stories that separate a righteous "us" from an evil and corrupt "them"--often along partisan, religious, and racial lines. Many point to populist rhetoric as a major source of the current animosity. For Michael J. Illuzzi, however, an alternative, optimistic version of populism can be the solution; a populist narrative that seeks to mend division and bring people together across political and social lines. These "mending stories," he argues, offer a way to restore and reclaim the promise contained in the words: "We the People."

In response to Trumpism, many scholars have drawn on political theories of democracy and cosmopolitanism to provide the intellectual basis for left-wing responses to the political right. But Illuzzi argues that people who reject MAGA do not need a new theory of opposition so much as a better story of what binds people together. To tell this story, Illuzzi turns to heroes of political healing, activism, and organizing in US history: Abraham Lincoln, social gospel mayor Samuel Jones, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Fred Hampton's Rainbow Coalition, Black Lives Matter and the Movement for Black Lives, and the new Poor People's Campaign under Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis and Rev. Dr. William Barber II. This tradition uses "mending stories of prophetic peoplehood" to bring people together, highlighting the way religious rhetoric often serves as a binding force for social reform.

In a period of declining trust in our political institutions, charismatic authoritarian leaders use stories of their despised enemies to enrage people and convince them to accept increasingly violent and illegal exercises of power. The question is whether mending stories that refuse the superiority of the "we" and the dehumanization of the "them" can offer an attractive alternative capable of changing our political future.

Mending the Nation shows that such stories have worked in the past--and maybe they can work again.

Review Quotes

"Anyone interested in American politics or American history should read Michael Illuzzi's brilliant and passionate book, and engage its crucial argument about the central, crucial role of narratives in politics. Given our crisis now, Mending the Nation voices a point of view that must be taken seriously by anyone who cares about the future of democracy in the United States."--George Shulman, author of American Prophecy: Race and Redemption in American Political Culture

"This is a timely, historically erudite contribution to American political thought--and, indeed, the broader study of populism and its ideological underpinnings. By analyzing the ways in which key political and intellectual figures in America have tapped ideas of 'prophetic peoplehood, ' Michael Illuzzi sheds fresh light not only on some Lincoln, Roosevelt, King and others but also suggests some important lessons about contemporary populism, authoritarian or otherwise. Highly recommended!"--William E. Scheuerman, author of The End of Law: Carl Schmitt in the Twenty-First Century

"The rise of authoritarian populism in the United States and many lands is teaching progressives that they cannot build coalitions for change without unifying stories that express values and identities people cherish. But what stories? In Mending the Nation, Michael Illuzzi superbly illuminates how 'mending stories' of American peoplehood have won gains in the past and can provide a path to a better future."--Rogers M. Smith, author of That Is Not Who We Are! Populism and Peoplehood

"Mending the Nation is lucidly written and compelling for our current political moment. Illuzzi uses case studies both familiar (Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Martin Luther King) and hidden (Samuel 'Golden Rule' Jones) to provide an essential theoretical intervention: 'mending stories.' Such stories can provide a narrative of peoplehood that responds directly and effectively to populist 'bleaching stories' that exclude women and people of color. His analysis provides a convincing path forward for readers through America's contemporary surge in populism."--Ange-Marie Hancock, author of Intersectionality: An Intellectual History