Restoring An American Balance

E.J. Dionne has written a fascinating book, Our Divided Political Heart: The Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent, which you can buy here. A taste:

At the heart of this book is the view that American history is defined by an irrepressible and ongoing tension between two core values: our love of individualism and our reverence for community. These values do not simply face off against each other. There is not a party of "individualism" competing at election time with a party of "community." Rather, both of these values animate the consciousness and consciences of nearly all Americans. Both are essential to America's story and to American strength. Both interact, usually fruitfully, sometimes uncomfortably, with that other bedrock American value, equality, whose meaning we debate in every generation.

I tried to make this interview sharper and more focused than my last extended conversation with Ross Douthat. And I'm always eager for feedback as I learn how to do this interview thing.