THE MONARCHY OF FEAR

From one of the world's most celebrated moral philosophers comes a thorough examination of the current political crisis and recommendations for how to mend our divided country.

Today's political atmosphere is marked by partisanship, divisive rhetoric, and the inability of two halves of the country to communicate with one another and Nussbaum focuses on what so many pollsters and pundits have overlooked. She sees a simple truth at the heart of the problem: the political is always emotional. Globalization has produced feelings of powerlessness in millions of people in the West. That sense of powerlessness bubbles into resentment and blame. Blame of immigrants. Blame of Muslims. Blame of other races. Blame of cultural elites.

While this politics of blame is exemplified by the election of Donald Trump and the vote for Brexit, Nussbaum argues it can be found on all sides of the political spectrum, left or right. Drawing on a mix of historical and contemporary examples The Monarchy of Fear untangles this web of feelings and provides a roadmap of where to go next.

Martha Nussbaum has written more than 22 books, many of which have gone on to win awards from organizations such as PEN and the AAUP. She is the recipient of no fewer than 56 honorary degrees. In the past four years, she's won five of philosophy's most prestigious awards and delivered the Locke Lectures at Oxford. More recently, in July 2016, Nussbaum was profiled in The New Yorker by Rachel Aviv.