Nemesis of Reform - (Atlantic Studies on Society in Change) by Clyde Weed (Hardcover)

About the Book

The book focuses on the thought of twenty-four mainly European and North American thinkers, ranging historically from the Renaissance to postmodernism. It discusses foundational writers (some of whom have been claimed as anti-humanists) such as Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, Dewey and Sartre as well as the contemporary thinkers Habermas, Cixous, Rorty, Hall and Haraway, to construct a series of provocative dialogues which suggest the ongoing relevance of humanism to issues of ethics, art, science, selfhood, gender, citizenship and religion.

Book Synopsis

Weed sheds new light on the Roosevelt landslide of 1936, explaining the Republican nomination of Landon and why the GOP so badly miscalculated its prospects in that election.

From the Back Cover

In The Nemesis of Reform, Clyde P. Weed takes a fresh look at the social and political upheavals of the 1930s as viewed from the perspective of the minority party during the New Deal. Contrary to dominant theories of party politics, Weed argues that the behavior of the minority party is an essential component of the broader process of partisan reform. He points out that the behavior of the Republican party during the New Deal era contradicts the dominant view that political parties act rationally to maximize vote-gathering capability. Drawing from primary source material on the internal affairs of the Republican party in the 1930s, Weed systematically demonstrates that the Republican party actually steered away from the center - indeed, away from majority opinion - during this crucial period. He sheds new light on the Roosevelt landslide of 1936, explaining the Republican nomination of Landon and why the GOP so badly miscalculated its prospects in that election. Weed goes on to elucidate the Republican reaction to New Deal politics, and to their new minority status. By demonstrating how Republican miscalculations in the 1930s played into the hands of the emerging Democratic majority, Weed points to the continuing importance of party elites in the dynamics of political change. In so doing, he offers a viable new model for studying the shifting of political currents throughout history.