American Schism: How the Two Enlightenments Hold the Secret to Healing our Nation

PRAISE for AMERICAN SCHISM "Almost every book I read about America these days makes me more pessimistic about the country’s future. Seth Radwell’s American Schism is a rare exception. Mr. Radwell shows that Americans have argued angrily...from the founding onwards. But he also shows that disagreements have not prevented them from forging creative consensus. ―Adrian Wooldridge, author of The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World " American Schism makes a counterintuitive yet compelling case: we shouldn’t overcome our disagreements; we should accentuate the right disagreements―those rooted in the competing, but always fact-based, visions that emerged in the Enlightenment and shaped America’s founding. Deftly moving from philosophy to history to contemporary politics, Seth David Radwell illuminates an innovative path to a better society.” ―Jacob S. Hacker, professor of political science, Yale University, co-author of Let Them Eat Tweets: How the Right Rules in an Age of Extreme Inequality "It is not often that one encounters history powerfully combined with analysis of our present, deeply troubling reality in a way that compels us to reconsider and reset our own political notions . . . Seth David Radwell, with his engaging style, has done just that, escorting us from the America of the Enlightenment to the United States of today in a way that will cause a great many of us to rethink.” ―Jonathan Israel, leading Enlightenment scholar and Professor Emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton "With America facing an ever-expanding slew of challenges, the only bipartisan solution often seems to be blaming the other side. What this reflects, according to Seth David Radwell, is the divide between two distinct visions of the Enlightenment, one moderate and one radical, that has been present since the nation’s founding and continues to shape our politics. I wholly recommend Radwell’s book as a vital foundation on which to build a better understanding of not just the problems of twenty-first-century America but of the solutions we require.” ―Katherine M. Gehl, author of The Politics Industry “...the roots of our current division are much deeper than we may have thought. American Schism provides a compelling account of our nation’s past and present and makes a vigorous case for a hopeful future.” ―Stephen Darwall, Andrew Downey Orrick Professor of Philosophy, Yale University "Radwell makes a powerful argument that many of America’s greatest internal conflicts―past and present―are part of a titanic, ongoing struggle between conflicting camps of Enlightenment thought, one championing a democratic republic, the other an aristocratic one." ―Colin Woodard, author of Union: The Struggle to Forge the Story of United States Nationhood and American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America "For those of us who are anxious about the state of democracy in the US and beyond, Radwell’s book is a salve. ...behind our current divisions, Radwell glimpses the prospects for a more hopeful future―one which requires re-committing ourselves to certain Enlightenment ideals. ... Radwell’s vision [is] compelling: historically nuanced, well-argued, and with a focus firmly on what we all have reason to hope is a better future together.” ―Sanford C. Goldberg , Chester D. Tripp Professor in the Humanities and professor of philosophy, Northwestern University, professorial fellow, Arché Research Center, University of St. Andrews "As the political polarization in our country deepens seemingly by the day, Seth David Radwell’s American Schism could not --. "As the political polarization in our country deepens seemingly by the day, Seth David Radwell’s American Schism could not come at a better time. In contrast to the widespread belief that our current state of affairs is unprecedented, Radwell shows that, in fact, its roots date back to the origins of this country in the form of ‘The Two Enlightenments.’ American Schism is a fascinating historical work, but Radwell also offers an optimistic look forward and a detailed road map for how we can restore our unity and greatness.” ― Whitney Tilson, co-author of Poor Charlie’s Almanack , More Mortgage Meltdown , The Art of Value Investing , and The Art of Playing Defense , and a well-known value investor and philanthropist. --. "An intriguing exploration of how past historical conflicts continue to play out in our present divisions.” ―Paul Loeb, author of Soul of a Citizen --. SETH DAVID RADWELL is an internationally known business executive and thought leader in consumer marketing. A common thread across all his leadership and business endeavors has been his passion for our shared democratic values and his interest in American public policy. Mr. Radwell served as president of e-Scholastic, the digital arm of the global children’s publishing and education conglomerate. In an earlier role he was president of Bookspan/Bertelsmann, where he was responsible for all editorial, marketing, media, and digital functions for such iconic brands as Book of the Month Club, Doubleday Book Club, and Literary Guild. Until 2018, Mr. Radwell served as the CEO of The Proactiv Company, the leading skincare brand for acne. Previously, he served as president and chief revenue officer of Guthy-Renker, the worldwide leading direct-to-consumer beauty company. Prior to his publishing career, Radwell served as senior vice president, content, for Prodigy Services Company, where he pioneered new ecommerce revenue streams for the online service business. Before that, he spent six years with management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. Seth David Radwell received a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He holds a bachelor of arts degree, summa cum laude from Columbia College, Columbia University. He currently divides his time between New York, Los Angeles, and Paris.