Last Best Hope: The Revival of America
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- Create Date：2021-06-10 18:31:20
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：George Packer
- ISBN：B08K7BR4VS
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Summary
Acclaimed National Book Award-winning author George Packer diagnoses America's descent into a failed state， and envisions a path toward overcoming injustices， paralyses， and divides
How， in a few decades， did the United States transform from a broadly prosperous middle-class country， with relatively healthy institutions and competent leaders， to a nation defined by discredited elites， hollowed-out institutions， and blatant inequalities-feared and pitied by our friends， mocked and sabotaged by our adversaries， first in the world in Covid cases and deaths， and led in recent years by an incompetent authoritarian bigot？ Last Best Hope is a bracing account of our current crisis and of how a new era of civic revitalization may bring it to an end。
Combining reportage with historical narrative， autobiography， and political analysis， Packer depicts and assesses the four inadequate narratives that dominate American public life: Libertarian America， which imagines a nation of individuals responsible for their own fate， and serves the interests of corporations and the wealthy; Cosmopolitan America， the ideology of Silicon Valley and the professional elite，which celebrates globalization and leaves many American communities behind; Diverse America， which defines citizens as members of large identity groups that have inflicted or suffered oppression; and White America， a shallow nationalism that fears the contamination of non-whites and treachery of coastal elites， and poses the greatest threat to democracy in our lifetime。
At a time when many fear that the American experiment in self-government may collapse， or， in Abraham Lincoln's words， "die by suicide"， Packer shows that none of these narratives can sustain American democracy。 To point a better way forward， he looks back at previous eras of crisis to discover the resources for invigorating self-government。 Combining trenchant social analysis with a vibrant and stinging essayistic voice and a deep knowledge of America's past and present， Last Best Hope is an essential contribution to the literature of national self-examination the times demand。
How， in a few decades， did the United States transform from a broadly prosperous middle-class country， with relatively healthy institutions and competent leaders， to a nation defined by discredited elites， hollowed-out institutions， and blatant inequalities-feared and pitied by our friends， mocked and sabotaged by our adversaries， first in the world in Covid cases and deaths， and led in recent years by an incompetent authoritarian bigot？ Last Best Hope is a bracing account of our current crisis and of how a new era of civic revitalization may bring it to an end。
Combining reportage with historical narrative， autobiography， and political analysis， Packer depicts and assesses the four inadequate narratives that dominate American public life: Libertarian America， which imagines a nation of individuals responsible for their own fate， and serves the interests of corporations and the wealthy; Cosmopolitan America， the ideology of Silicon Valley and the professional elite，which celebrates globalization and leaves many American communities behind; Diverse America， which defines citizens as members of large identity groups that have inflicted or suffered oppression; and White America， a shallow nationalism that fears the contamination of non-whites and treachery of coastal elites， and poses the greatest threat to democracy in our lifetime。
At a time when many fear that the American experiment in self-government may collapse， or， in Abraham Lincoln's words， "die by suicide"， Packer shows that none of these narratives can sustain American democracy。 To point a better way forward， he looks back at previous eras of crisis to discover the resources for invigorating self-government。 Combining trenchant social analysis with a vibrant and stinging essayistic voice and a deep knowledge of America's past and present， Last Best Hope is an essential contribution to the literature of national self-examination the times demand。
Reviews
Bruce Katz
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I'm not going to get this right。 For one thing， there's simply too much in the book -- too much to think about， absorb， wrestle with -- to cover in a review like this。 For another， I'm very reluctant to quote or say too much about a book that isn't out yet。 I'm reluctant to accidentally misrepresent or trivialize any of the author's points。I liked Packer's last book， "The Unpacking，" well enough， but in the end I found it unsatisfying。 "Last Best Hope，" though， impressed me entirely。 I found it I'm not going to get this right。 For one thing， there's simply too much in the book -- too much to think about， absorb， wrestle with -- to cover in a review like this。 For another， I'm very reluctant to quote or say too much about a book that isn't out yet。 I'm reluctant to accidentally misrepresent or trivialize any of the author's points。I liked Packer's last book， "The Unpacking，" well enough， but in the end I found it unsatisfying。 "Last Best Hope，" though， impressed me entirely。 I found it an astute， honest， and fair description of where the United States is today in terms of culture and politics， how we got here， and what we need to do if we hope to bring the country together and make it governable。 In short， it's timely， earnest， impassioned and， yes， important。The "where we are" diagnosis Packer lays out here is bleak and familiar。 We are a society at war with ourselves。 We are two countries inhabiting different worlds。 We don't and can't speak to one another。 "Americans can no longer think and act as fellow citizens。 We look for answers in private panaceas， fixed ideas， group identities， dreams of the future and the past， saviors of different types — everywhere but in ourselves。"In a passage that explains the book's title， he somberly writes， What do we see in the mirror now？ An unstable country， political institutions that might not be perpetuated， a people divided into warring tribes and prone to violence — the kind of country we used to think we could save。 No one is going to save us。 We are our last best hope。Packer doesn't soften what obstacles must be overcome if we hope to save ourselves。 It won't be an easy fix， given the circumstances。 "Our thought leaders sound like carnival barkers， [and] our citizenry seems to be suffering through early-state National Cognitive Decline。"In "Last Best Hope" Packer offers a kind of taxonomy of the conceptual nations that currently make up America， four narratives that have grown out of an array of cultural， historical， political， and economic currents: Free America， Smart America， Real America， and Just America。 I suppose some might argue that creating categories like this is reductive and facile。 I didn't find this to be the case; rather， I found his analysis nuanced and useful。 Packer explores in detail these narratives， showing where they overlap， where they diverge， what values motivate them， and what visions of America and patriotism and community shape them。 His desciption of these different Americas -- all of which I found convincing -- make up a large part of the book， but his project goes far beyond mere taxonomy。 I can do it no justice in any summary I might write here。Packer is extraordinarily fair-minded， more so than any analysis of our time that I've read。 On one side， he makes no attempt to disguise his contempt for what Republicans have become over the past few decades。 "By 2010，" he writes， "[the GOP] was like a figure in a hall of mirrors whose head and body have been severed but continue to move as if they’re still attached。" For years they demonstrated a willingness to do just about anything， including sacrificing democracy， in the search for power。 Their cynical hunger for power found a medium through which to express itself in November 2016， and a figurehead that demanded of them no solutions， ideas， or action， only loyalty and a willingness to look the other way。 Trump saw the federal government as property he’d acquired by winning the election。 And the GOP was happy to go along for the ride。 Just as they were （and have been） since the January 6 attack on Congress。 The GOP is definitely undermining the norms of governance， but there's plenty of blame to go around。 As Packer says， One party descended into extremism and then nihilism， dragging half the country with it and making the whole country ungovernable。 The other party sliced up its half into groups， calculating that the sum of them would keep it in power。Packer has no patience for the fragmentation he discerns in the politics of the Left， the academic， "critical theory" mentality that sees the world through an unhelpful and rarefied lens。 He holds nothing back in identifying the guilty: the universities， newspapers of record （the NY Times gets its share of scorn here， but they are nor alone）， the use of language （"instead of ‘wrong’ and ‘unjust’ we say ‘problematic’ and ‘marginalizing，’ words that turn social justice into specialized work and warn everyone else off， while raising a barrier between thought and action"）， the limited vision of the Smart elite。 What has developed in America， broadly speaking， is a culture that is more about performance than about communication: No one says what they think when the setting is a university classroom， an anti-bias training session， a newspaper op-ed， or a tweet。 Packer identifies what he perceives as the forces that feed our dysfunction: meritocracy， economic inequality， anger fueled by frustration， flawed and decrepit institutions （"the Senate， an ancient corpse around the neck of democracy"）， raw self-interest。。。 More -- and more nuanced and substantial -- than I can hope to summarize or usefully describe here。 There are so many highlighted passages， so many notes in the margins of my digital ARC。 Some examples:"To believe that Trump showed us who we really are is no different from believing that Obama showed us who we really are。 Narcissism is expressed in extremes of self-contempt as well as self-adoration。""One country believes we narrowly averted the overthrow of democracy， and the other believes we saw its brazen perversion in a massive fraud。 Each views the other as an existential enemy with whom compromise would be betrayal。""…these two classes， rising professionals and sinking workers， which a couple of generations ago were close in incomes and not so far apart in mores， no longer believe they belong to the same country。 But they can’t escape each other。"Packer's analysis provides a solid foundation for what he believes must be done if the US is to survive， not only as a global power but as a functioning， nation。 His recommendations， which I won't enumerate here， made a lot of sense to me。 What he seeks is not an American Garden of Eden， but something more modest and attainable: a nation that is governable。 "[We] don’t have to reach the heavenly shores of brotherhood and sisterhood — just a modicum of trust。"I will be buying a hard copy of the book when it comes out next month。 I want to be able to lend it to friends and relatives。 Simply stated， I found "Last Best Hope" to be the most incisive analysis of Our Current Situation I've seen。 I don't believe it will be universally well received -- it's too candid in its criticism of both parties， both cultures， and many people will doubtless get defensive -- but it deserves very serious attention。 It will， I hope inspire an honest and necessary conversation。My thanks to Farrar， Straus and Giroux for providing a digital ARC in return for an honest evaluation。 。。。more
James Beggarly
，
Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the early ebook。 In this slim book the author paints the bleak picture of America’s present: The awful divides of race， political parties， wage inequality and finds our country on the brink of crises that mirrors the Civil War， the Depression and the turmoil of the late 1960’s。 The book quickly traces how America came to each of those crises in the past and how they pulled back from the cliff of total destruction。 And he shows a series of steps that can lead to a Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the early ebook。 In this slim book the author paints the bleak picture of America’s present: The awful divides of race， political parties， wage inequality and finds our country on the brink of crises that mirrors the Civil War， the Depression and the turmoil of the late 1960’s。 The book quickly traces how America came to each of those crises in the past and how they pulled back from the cliff of total destruction。 And he shows a series of steps that can lead to a renewed and unified country for today， if only we can find leaders unafraid to honestly lead， aided with farseeing allies working behind the scenes。 A frank and bracing book。 。。。more
Caren
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