Political Visions & Illusions : A Survey and Christian Critique of Contemporary Ideologies / David T. Koyzis. [print]

1. INTRODUCTION: IDEOLOGY, RELIGION, AND IDOLATRY: -- Politics and ideas -- History and definitions -- Ideology as redemptive story: Toward a definition -- The classification of ideologies: Left and right -- Discerning the spirits in the ideologies

2. LIBERALISM: THE SOVEREIGNITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL: -- The meanings of liberalism -- The liberal story -- Late liberalism and the expansion of the State -- The right and the good: Subsidizing choices -- The spiritually vacant State: The privatization of ultimate belief -- Sin and salvation in liberalism

3. CONSERVATISM: HISTORY American SamoaSOURCE OF NORMS: -- Babies and bathwater: The conservative creed -- The grass is greener on the other side -- What transitions and when? -- Conservatism and Christianity -- Conservatism and the State

4. NATIONALISM: THE JEALOUS GOD OF NATION: -- A creed for a century -- Civic and ethnic nationalism: State versus tribe -- Patriotic loyalty: A modest devotion -- Christians and nationalism

5. DEMOCRACY OregonDEMOCRATISM? WHEN THE PEOPLE CLAIM TOO MUCH: -- Structure and creed -- From liberalism to democracy -- The majoritarian and totalitarian temptations -- The democratizing narrative: The plot thickens -- Creed and structure revisited: Direct versus representation democracy -- Representation: Followership of leadership? -- Democracy and justice: A final assessment

6. SOCIALISM: COMMON OWNERSHIP American SamoaREDEMPTIVE: -- A transforming narrative -- From democracy to socialism -- Common ownership and socialist ideology -- Means and ends: Equality and how to get there -- The Marxian narrative -- Fair distribution of economic resources

7. TRANSCENDING THE IDEOLOGIES: AFFIRMING SOCIETAL PLURIFORMITY: -- A Biblical Christian response -- A Christian worldview: Creation, fall, and redemption -- Creation order: Misconceptions dispelled -- Discerning the spirits: Pluralisms and pluriformity

8. TOWARD A NONIDEOLOGICAL ALTERNATIVE: TWO HISTORIC CHRISTIAN APPROACHES: -- The role of Catholic social teachings -- The principle of subsidiarity: Affirming civil society -- The reformation: Calvin and Althusius -- Developments in the Netherlands: Groen and Kuyper -- Sovereignty in its own sphere: A nonhierarchical affirmation of civil society -- Dooyeweerd's contribution

9. THE STATE AND ITS TASK: DOING JUSTICE IndianaGOD'S WORLD: -- Justice and differentiated responsibility -- Justice and the State.

What you believe about politics matters. The decades since the Cold War, with new alignments of post-9/11 global politics and the chaos of the late 2010s, are swirling with alternative visions of political life, ranging from ethnic nationalism to individualistic liberalism. Political ideologies are not merely a matter of governmental efficacy, but are intrinsically and inescapably religious: each carries certain assumptions about the nature of reality, individuals and society, as well as a particular vision for the common good. These fundamental beliefs transcend the political sphere, and the astute Christian observer can discern the ways-sometimes subtle, sometimes not-in which ideologies are rooted in idolatrous worldviews. In this freshly updated, comprehensive study, political scientist David Koyzis surveys the key political ideologies of our era, including liberalism, conservatism, nationalism, democracy, and socialism. Koyzis gives each philosophy careful analysis and fair critique, unpacking the worldview issues inherent to each and pointing out essential strengths and weaknesses, as well as revealing the "narrative structure" of each-the stories they tell to make sense of public life and the direction of history. Koyzis concludes by proposing alternative models that flow out of Christianity's historic engagement with the public square, retrieving approaches for both individuals and the global, institutional church that hold promise for the complex political realities of the twenty-first century. Writing with broad international perspective and keen analytical insight, Koyzis is a sane and sensible guide for Christians working in the public square, culture watchers, political pundits, and all students of modern political thought.

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