Relic : how our constitution undermines effective government, and why we need a more powerful presidency

The Resource Relic : how our constitution undermines effective government, and why we need a more powerful presidency

Label

Relic : how our constitution undermines effective government, and why we need a more powerful presidency

Title remainder

how our constitution undermines effective government, and why we need a more powerful presidency

Statement of responsibility

William G. Howell and Terry M. Moe

Language

eng

Summary

"Our government is failing us. Can we simply blame polarization, the deregulation of campaign finance, or some other nefarious force? What if the roots go much deeper, to our nation's start? In Relic, the political scientists William Howell and Terry Moe boldly argue that nothing less than the U.S. Constitution is the cause of government dysfunction. The framers came from a simple, small, agrarian society, and set forth a government comprised of separate powers, one of which, Congress, was expected to respond to the parochial concerns of citizens across the land. By design, the national government they created was incapable of taking broad and meaningful action. But a hundred years after the nation's founding, the United States was transformed into a complex, large, and industrial society. The key, they argue, is to expand the powers of the president. Presidents take a longer view of things out of concern for their legacies, and are able to act without hesitation. To back up this controversial remedy, Howell and Moe offer an incisive understanding of the Progressive Movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, one of the most powerful movements in American history. The Progressives shone a bright light on the mismatch between our constitutional government and the demands of modernity, and they succeeded in changing our government, sidelining Congress and installing a presidentially-led system that was more able to tackle the nation's vast social problems. Howell and Moe argue that we need a second Progressive Movement dedicated to effective government, above all to reforms that promote strong presidential leadership. For it is through the presidency that the American government can address the problems that threaten the very stability of our society"--

Assigning source

Provided by publisher

Cataloging source

DLC

Dewey number

320.973

Index

index present

LC call number

JF251

LC item number

.H69 2016

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography

Context

Context of Relic : how our constitution undermines effective government, and why we need a more powerful presidency

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