Whose Freedom?: The Battle Over America's Most Important Idea

Politics will be dominating the news this summer as the 2006 Senate races heat up, creating an ideal climate for George Lakoff’s new book about freedom. “Freedom” is one of the most contested words in American political discourse, the keystone to the domestic and foreign policy battles that are racking our polarized nation. For many Democrats, President Bush’s use of the word is meaningless and contradictory—applied opportunistically to justify both American military action abroad and the curtailing of civil liberties at home. But in fact the right has effected a devastatingly coherent and ideological redefinition of freedom.In a deep and alarming analysis, Lakoff argues forcefully what liberals must do to take back ground in this high-stakes war over the most central idea in American life.