A Liberal Tool Kit: Progressive Responses to Conservative Arguments

(Hardback)

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This book brings together in one place the liberal and conservative arguments that face the Republican and Democratic parties in the run-up to the 2008 election. In each chapter, David Coates lays out the popular conservative case and then presents a point-by-point liberal response. Each chapter challenges right-wing ways of framing the issue and pulls discussion back into the civilized center of American politics. The sources and evidence sustaining both conservative and liberal arguments are listed in endnotes and developed more fully on an associated blog site. A Liberal Tool Kit helps to redress the conservative bias in the way news and arguments are generally reported. Coates argues that conservative media outlets are currently more powerful and numerous than liberal ones, contending that conservative arguments tend to be presented more clearly than their less simplistic, more nuanced liberal alternatives. In this book, he presents the complexities of the conservative arguments while at the same time clarifying liberal positions in straightforward, everyday language, so leveling the playing field.

Reviews

Coates seeks to provide liberal activists with sound policy arguments on eight issues: trickle-down economics, welfare, social security reform, health care, immigration, religion, the war in Iraq, and economic prosperity. A distinctive feature of the book is that each chapter opens with a summary of the conservative arguments the author seeks to refute. These summaries are well documented, and Coates makes an effort to state his opponents' views accurately, although he does tend to showcase the far Right rather than a more moderate conservative position. He then replies to these arguments with a thoroughly researched presentation of a liberal view. As the title suggests, the aim is to help liberals argue successfully, rather than to win over moderates or conservatives. Consequently, Coates is able to avoid a polemical tone and present his evidence objectively. While the primary audience will be liberal activists, the volume would also be useful for courses where an instructor would like an example of liberal views. Given its thorough notes, it would also be a useful reference for those wishing to study any of the issues more deeply. Recommended. General readers, all undergraduates, and practitioners. * Choice *
[R]efreshingly frank. * Winston-Salem Journal *

Author Bio

David Coates is Worrell Professor of Anglo-American Studies at Wake Forest University. He was previously Professor and Director of the International Center for Labor Studies at the University of Manchester. He has written extensively on contemporary political economy, the war on terrorism, and the politics of labor. His previous books include Prolonged Labour: The Slow Birth of New Labour Britain (2005), Blair's War (2004) with Joel Krieger, and Models of Capitalism (2000).