The Dying Citizen: How Progressive Elites, Tribalism, and Globalization Are Destroying the Idea of America
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- Create Date：2021-10-08 10:51:07
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Victor Davis Hanson
- ISBN：154164753X
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Summary
The New York Times bestselling author of The Case for Trump explains the decline and fall of the once cherished idea of American citizenship。
Human history is full of the stories of peasants， subjects， and tribes。 Yet the concept of the “citizen” is historically rare—and was among America’s most valued ideals for over two centuries。 But without shock treatment， warns historian Victor Davis Hanson， American citizenship as we have known it may soon vanish。
In The Dying Citizen， Hanson outlines the historical forces that led to this crisis。 The evisceration of the middle class over the last fifty years has made many Americans dependent on the federal government。 Open borders have undermined the idea of allegiance to a particular place。 Identity politics have eradicated our collective civic sense of self。 And a top-heavy administrative state has endangered personal liberty， along with formal efforts to weaken the Constitution。
As in the revolutionary years of 1848， 1917， and 1968， 2020 ripped away our complacency about the future。 But in the aftermath， we as Americans can rebuild and recover what we have lost。 The choice is ours。
Human history is full of the stories of peasants， subjects， and tribes。 Yet the concept of the “citizen” is historically rare—and was among America’s most valued ideals for over two centuries。 But without shock treatment， warns historian Victor Davis Hanson， American citizenship as we have known it may soon vanish。
In The Dying Citizen， Hanson outlines the historical forces that led to this crisis。 The evisceration of the middle class over the last fifty years has made many Americans dependent on the federal government。 Open borders have undermined the idea of allegiance to a particular place。 Identity politics have eradicated our collective civic sense of self。 And a top-heavy administrative state has endangered personal liberty， along with formal efforts to weaken the Constitution。
As in the revolutionary years of 1848， 1917， and 1968， 2020 ripped away our complacency about the future。 But in the aftermath， we as Americans can rebuild and recover what we have lost。 The choice is ours。
Reviews
Brian Brawdy
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The book is so well done it makes you just shake your headIt’s been said that once a handout is codified in law， no future politician will ever rescind the statute。 Seems that once a lie is told by the deep state， it also will never be retracted。
Linda Galella
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Are you a resident or a CITIZEN？ This is the question you’ll be able to answer after finishing “The Dying Citizen”， by Victor David Hanson。Hanson is a senior fellow of military history and classics at the Hoover Institute at Stanford。 He traces the history of citizenship back to its earliest days and follows the path to current conditions。 It’s a heavy going and reads very much like a text book in parts。 I was quite shocked to learn that most Americans have no clue what the First Amendment is， w Are you a resident or a CITIZEN？ This is the question you’ll be able to answer after finishing “The Dying Citizen”， by Victor David Hanson。Hanson is a senior fellow of military history and classics at the Hoover Institute at Stanford。 He traces the history of citizenship back to its earliest days and follows the path to current conditions。 It’s a heavy going and reads very much like a text book in parts。 I was quite shocked to learn that most Americans have no clue what the First Amendment is， what the 3 branches of government are or who key historical figures are like Ulysses S。 Grant or Dwight D。 Eisenhower。The book is broken up into 6 lengthy chapters that discuss:1。 PEASANTS - shrinking of the middle class2。 RESIDENTS - distinction between immigrants， residents & citizens; their right and laws3。 TRIBES - national identity vs。 tribe identity; racism， bias and patriotism4。 UNELECTED - deep state， media， bureaucratic elite growing in power5。 EVOLUTIONARIES - dismantling the Constitution6。 GLOBALISTS - threat of globalism and loss of freedom， democracyEach of these chapters is full of historical data leading up to our current situation with enough documentation to fill the last 20% of this volume。 IMO， the best part of this book is the author’s epilogue。 Hanson had cause to pen a lengthy update during the final editing process。 In this chapter he pulls all the pieces together and summarizes including the last few months: “The stakes were no less than the preservation of the American republic itself。” A worthy read 📚 。。。more
Dave
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In his forthcoming book， the Dying Citizen， noted historian Victor Davis Hanson cogently explains the roots of citizenship in the ancient Greek democracies and traces the modern-day threats to citizenship in current America。Hanson begins his treatise by discussing the citizens of the ancient Greek republics who were， for the most part， middle-class people who saw themselves protected by laws rather than by transitory goodwill or the patronage of aristocrats and were thus enabled and emboldened t In his forthcoming book， the Dying Citizen， noted historian Victor Davis Hanson cogently explains the roots of citizenship in the ancient Greek democracies and traces the modern-day threats to citizenship in current America。Hanson begins his treatise by discussing the citizens of the ancient Greek republics who were， for the most part， middle-class people who saw themselves protected by laws rather than by transitory goodwill or the patronage of aristocrats and were thus enabled and emboldened to produce and create。 That idea of citizenship with responsibilities and rights has been expanded over the past 200 plus years to include the poor， women， and minorities， creating the free-est country in the history of the world。Yet， now that idea of citizenship is threatened by the shrinking of the middle-class in a world where jobs have been shipped overseas and the middle-class of the most affluent and technology advanced state （California） cannot afford a home and cannot afford to raise their families there。 Without the middle-class， the world becomes the rich elites who do not need the protection of government because they are transnational and can go anywhere and the impoverished uneducated who have not learned the values of democracy。Secondly， Hanson points out that there is a dilution in distinction now between citizens and residents so that those who come here illegally have the same rights as those who were born here and those who followed the rules。 This illegal immigration has resulted in jurisdictions where they openly defy federal law， weakening the rule of law and the protections of law that so many have counted on。 It has also resulted in untold thousands of criminals among the many essentially decent people who have crossed the border illegally， but in such numbers that even a small minority of criminals have caused unimaginable havoc and suffering on those who relied on the government to protect them from criminals。The third threat to citizenship and democracy that Hanson identifies is the breakdown of Americans into separate identity tribes as opposed to one national identity。 This， in turn， causes harm to patriotism and to adherence to shared values and history。 He notes that “the story of the United States was never just a simplistic psychodrama” of different racial groups warring， but often a tale of class antagonism。 Notably， though， the founding documents offered a “sanctioned pathway out of bias to a fairer and more racially blind society。” Multiculturalism fragments citizenship into racial categories and divides us further。 Opposed to tribalism though is individualism and the American ideal is to each be treated on their own merit， not based on shared characteristics。The fourth threat to citizenship identified in this book is the unelected whether that is the ever-growing power of the deep state， the unelected bureaucracy which thinks it knows better than the ordinary citizen。 “The bureaucratic threat， then， to classical citizenship is an ascendance of a virtual unelected aristocracy or rigged oligarchy that exercises power in a manner that does not reflect consensual government。” These powerful elites have also of late taken root in the journalistic industry which no longer purports to be neutral and whose biases are now clearer than ever and more partisan than ever。The fifth threat is called evolutionaries， that is， those who would do away with our common heritage and throw out the baby with the bathwater， trashing the constitution， the amendments， the makeup of the Supreme Court， the freedoms we hold dear。 Elites now are piecemeal attacking the First Amendment， the Second Amendment， and wielding whatever power they deem right to suit their ends。Finally， the sixth threat to citizenship is globalism whereby the elites have decreed that all civilizations are equal and that there is nothing to be admired about the free United States。 In service of globalism， it is often the middle and lower classes that suffer as their jobs are shipped out of country and their lives are hollowed out。 Globalism also results in submission to world bodies dominated by Iran and North Korea where the idea of human rights is not serious and our sovereignty is gifted to international bodies who do not have our interests at heart。Thus， there are today a number of ever-escalating threats to freedom and democracy and our way of life and we had better recognize the thin ice we are skating on before our freedoms are crushed in the pathway of someone else’s idea of a better world。 。。。more
Jane
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