Try Common Sense
Replacing the Failed Ideologies of Right and Left
Published on 29. January 2019
Book
Hardback
160 pages
978-1-324-00176-8 (ISBN)
Description
In this brief and powerful book, Philip K. Howard attacks the failed ideologies of both parties and proposes a radical simplification of government to re-empower Americans in their daily choices. Nothing will make sense until people are free to roll up their sleeves and make things work. The first steps are to abandon the philosophy of correctness and our devotion to mindless compliance.
Americans are a practical people. They want government to be practical. Washington can't do anything practically. Worse, its bureaucracy prevents Americans from doing what's sensible. Conservative bluster won't fix this problem. Liberal hand-wringing won't work either. Frustrated voters reach for extremist leaders, but they too get bogged down in the bureaucracy that has accumulated over the past century. Howard shows how America can push the reset button and create simpler frameworks focused on public goals where officials-prepare for the shock-are actually accountable for getting the job done.
Americans are a practical people. They want government to be practical. Washington can't do anything practically. Worse, its bureaucracy prevents Americans from doing what's sensible. Conservative bluster won't fix this problem. Liberal hand-wringing won't work either. Frustrated voters reach for extremist leaders, but they too get bogged down in the bureaucracy that has accumulated over the past century. Howard shows how America can push the reset button and create simpler frameworks focused on public goals where officials-prepare for the shock-are actually accountable for getting the job done.
Reviews / Votes
"[A] thunderous little book." -- Gillian Tett - Financial Times "If you have the feeling that America and its government and institutions are malfunctioning, then you should read this important book. It is time for us to... try common sense." -- Jonathan Haidt, New York University Stern School of Business, co-author of The Coddling of the American Mind "[A] blockbuster." -- Steve Forbes - Forbes "Philip K. Howard has written a transcendent guidebook for life after Trump. This profound and practical new book makes us hope for the particular situation of a Philip Howard presidential candidacy at the head of his exemplary party for the Common Good." -- George Gilder, author of Wealth and Poverty and Life After Google "E]ngagingly written and never-dull apercu that pinpoints with deadly accuracy ... so much that is wrong with the current American administrative state." -- Charlotte Allen - Law & Liberty "[M]asterful. ... [D]emand that your elected officials read it - and act according to Howard's advice." -- Quin Hillyer - Washington Examiner "A breath of fresh air in an America where the political atmosphere has been poisoned by partisan invective." -- Mary Ann Glendon, Harvard Law professor and author of Rights Talk and The Forum and the Tower "Try Common Sense will send Washington reeling. Howard provides practical vision certain to offend the political establishment." -- Alan K. Simpson, U.S. Senator, Wyoming (Ret.) "Wonderful ideas beautifully expressed." -- John Sweller, Emeritus Professor of Educational Psychology, University of New South Wales "With provocative arguments and convincing solutions, Howard offers a fresh, nonpartisan approach that will appeal to anyone frustrated with government's ongoing failures." -- Kirkus ReviewsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 141 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
363 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-324-00176-8 (9781324001768)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
01/2019
W. W. Norton & Company
€23.99
Available for download
Person
Philip K. Howard is the founder of Common Good, a nonprofit that advocates for simplifying government. His book, The Rule of Nobody, was a finalist for the Manhattan Institute's Hayek Book Prize. He lives in New York.