Cultures at War: Moral Conflicts in Western Democracies

Cultures at War is a careful and thought-provoking treatment of the rise of morality issues in the United States and other western democracies. Its thesis is that morality issues increasingly are displacing the bread-and-butter issues that dominated politics in these countries through most of the twentieth century. As a consequence, our theoretical models for understanding politics must adapt in ways that will focus attention on the essential features of morality policies. The authors also conclude that the rise of morality issues has produced a type of politics that is inherently anti-democratic. This is a provocative thesis - one that should be taken seriously by anyone who believes that policy decisions ultimately must be subject to the majoritarian process. This book poses the possibility that these political questions now facing western democracies are the product of historical and social forces as large as industrialization itself and that the end result of the shift towards these issues is a loss of majoritarian empowerment that was the singular achievement of western democracies. Cultures at War is a book that will be read and re-read by students of public policy, politics, and society.

Kenneth N. Bickers, Indiana University

This is a very readable, yet also well argued, analysis of the field. It summarises an immense amount of literature on the subject, as well as drawing together masses of related material. To have done it at all is a considerable feat. To have done it in such a readable manner is a minor triumph.

Philip Cowley, University of Nottingham

This book marries rigorous scholarship with riveting examples of morality policy across five countries. The role of values, ethics, and competing moral visions in public policy has long needed treatment of this scope and clarity.

Leslie A. Pal, Carleton University

This is a refreshing look at some of the most contentious issues that bedevil modern political life. [...] Cultures at War stands out [...] as an important contribution to the growing field of comparative public policy of moral regulation. The authors are undoubtedly correct to conclude that morality issues will increase in salience and that their resolution leaves much to be desired. This accessible study goes a long way toward charting the unpredictability of new political alignments and the opaqueness of the democratic process.

Paulette Kurzer

Smith and Tatalovich have assembled a tremendous amount of information and their approach should spur political scientists to reconsider their models for analyzing policymaking. This ambitious work raises valuable questions about the relationship between morality and policymaking, and indeed the purpose of government in democratic societies.

Lisa L. Ferrar, The American Review of Canadian Studies