The Monarchy of Fear

A Philosopher Looks at Our Political Crisis

By: Martha C. Nussbaum, Martha C. Nussbaum - preface

Narrated by: Amanda Carlin

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.

For decades Martha C. Nussbaum has been an acclaimed scholar and humanist, earning dozens of honors for her books and essays. In The Monarchy of Fear she turns her attention to the current political crisis that has polarized American since the 2016 election.

Although today’s atmosphere is marked by partisanship, divisive rhetoric, and the inability of two halves of the country to communicate with one another, 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, from classical Athens to the musical Hamilton, The Monarchy of Fear untangles this web of feelings and provides a roadmap of where to go next.

Good start

There are a number of similar books recently published which analyze how we got to this place of extreme political polarization. Of course, the Trump supporter is angry at (among other things) working class people's decline in income/security, and fear of worsening status. Of course, progressives (like me) are angry at having to fight all civil rights battles all over again and fear how close we are to fascism in the US right now.

We really are not each other's true enemies; we are both being played for the enrichment of the one per cent.

If we ever join forces.....

….

I am Tatar, and we are not a tribe in Africa, it is an ethnic minority in Russia.

Everyone should read this book now!

This book is an excellent view of the current political crisis. You will find information and comfort in this well written book by Martha Nussbaum.

Interesting

Found this book on a list of books about stoicism and philosophy. Better than the Zen and art of motorcycle maintenance.

interesting book, distracting performance

Nussbaun offers some interesting insights and arguments about our current political situation. That said, the reader often sounded like a computer with odd, misplaced pauses (pauses mid-sentence were often longer than pauses between sentences). This choppy narration made the book harder to follow than it ought to be. I would recommend the print version.