Ronald Reagan and the Politics of Freedom
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Ronald Reagan and the Politics of Freedom
In Ronald Reagan and the Politics of Freedom, Andrew E. Busch goes beyond economic and foreign policies to examine Reagan’s understanding of statesmanship. Busch analyzes Reagan’s conscious attempt to strengthen the separation of powers, federalism, and traditional rhetoric, and his efforts to revive the notion of limited government in a Constitutional Republic. In this important new study, Busch concludes that Ronald Reagan’s politics of freedom–found in his discourse, policy, and coalition-building–achieved significant successes in the 1980s and beyond.
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3 Stars More than you might want to know
In this book, the author sets out to prove that Ronald Reagan’s presidency had a salutary effect on social, political, and economic freedom in America; that his policies saved America’s freedom from the threat of communist tyranny; and that he brought back to the political debate a discussion of the original intent of the founding fathers, a discourse which had long been missing from political dialog, i.e., the concept of limited government with the consent of the governed.
It seems that these would be simple things to prove, since they are self-evident to most of those who lived through the 1980s. The author, however, perhaps because he is a professor of political science, goes to great lengths to do so in an even handed way. He does this by not going straight to the heart of the matter, sticking to his objectives, and systematically driving home his points one after another as one might expect. Instead, he examines Reagan’s presumed goals and the results of his efforts interspersed with the pros and cons of every issue as expressed by the various pundits of the time. This makes for informative but somewhat disjointed and often tedious reading.
From this mass of material, Mr. Busch then draws what seem to be rather narrow conclusions based on the weight of evidence. Then, in many instances, he goes still farther and second guesses his own conclusions (e.g. Did Reagan meet all of his objectives? Could he have done more? Was this really a change for the better? Would his policies have a lasting effect? Etc.). This has the effect of tempering and confusing his final suppositions. And by examining every facet of every issue, he simply tells us more than most of us really wanted to know.
He does, however, make many salient points, particularly with regard to the use and misuse of data and statistics to further one’s political agenda and the ends to which political activists will go to win their argument. But many of these points are so deeply imbedded in the pros and cons of the various issues that readers, like blind pigs rooting around for truffles, must find them and dig them out for themselves.
Bottom line - This is a somewhat difficult read which I wouldn’t recommend it to the average casual reader. I would, however, recommend it to anyone studying political science, politics, or economics, or who is seeking to better understand the Reagan revolution and its impact on America’s political scene.
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