Statecraft as Soulcraft

At a time when US identity is being challenged from within by an predictably unpredictable President, this classic provides a challenge that all Americans should be asked to reckon with: who are we, why are we here, what sets our nation apart, aside from our material well being? Whatever your opinion of George Will as a Washington Post writer and regular talking head on the networks, separate it from George Will the Princeton PhD and son of a philosopher who wrote this excellent contemporary (1983) work on the role of government, specifically that of the United States. Our Constitution was borne of the Enlightenment, out of a collective study of political philosophy and debate thereof. Will reminds us that the U.S. was founded on ideas, show more ideals, and values. As the title "Statecraft as Soulcraft," suggests, in the creation of the state we draw upon basic values that we work to enshrine in our institutions. Over time, however, our appetites have crept in and we've expanded government to address material fears -- hunger, exposure to the elements, and economic lassitude -- rather than continue to strive for ideals. However agnostic we claim it to be, the state is indirectly influencing the souls of its citizens as well. Will sees conservatives as conservators of the values upon which the US was founded, not blindly holding them sacred, but serving as custodians of the philosophic flame that lit the Framers' way, giving way only to well-reasoned argument; like the fitfully expanding circle of all "men" who are created equal in the United States. Not a long book, but it is particularly dense with philosophic reference and argument. Will is a masterful writer and it's a pleasure to read, wherever you are on the political spectrum. show less