Why I Wrote This Book
Our society is on an unsustainable trajectory. We can observe the symptoms of our problems, but can’t see and understand the real reasons why those problems exist. Most citizens see we are failing to find solutions, and our problems are becoming more severe and difficult to solve. Because of strong disagreements among different groups in society, a growing number of citizens are losing hope for solutions. When we give up on hope and the democratic process, we turn to a desperate race for power with a winner-take-all mentality. Furthermore, a growing percentage of Americans are being left behind, with a decreasing quality of life.
Our current conditions are not compatible with freedom. Without freedom, a flourishing society is impossible. My purpose for writing the book is to contribute to a new understanding of how we arrived in our present state and what can be done to change our trajectory. I want America to restore the freedoms we have lost and protect freedoms going forward. I want to see us restore what is required for all citizens to have hope and the opportunity for a better life.
I believe my work is a contribution to the proper understanding required of a citizen-ruler. My book is a message from one citizen to fellow citizens.
For Whom I Wrote This Book
I wrote this book for citizens who are concerned about our problems and our direction, who believe—or just have a vague sense—that something is fundamentally wrong, and are willing to invest time and effort to gain a better understanding. That group includes ordinary citizens as well as leaders, citizens from any socioeconomic category, citizens who align with any political party advocating freedom. On the other hand, my book will not be satisfying to those who are looking for quick, specific solutions to specific problems, nor to those who are looking for support of a particular political party.
In short, I wrote this book for any citizen who desires a proper understanding of what is required to be a citizen-ruler, for that is exactly what we must all become if we want a better future.
From the Back Cover
The worsening crises across all dimensions of American society—extreme political division, social and economic inequality, the politicization of the educational system, the looming retirement debacle, and much else—make clear that, at some point, the country took a wrong turn and that we find ourselves in a wholly new social and political situation. Most proposals for how to fix things involve policy changes coming from one or the other of the two major political parties. They offer no more than reforms to the existing system and have proven themselves incapable of bringing about needed change. But America’s foundations are still intact, and we can rebuild on them.
In this highly readable and wide-ranging book, the fruit of over thirty years of thought and research, Dwight Yoder makes the case that no amount of partisan-led policy reforms will get us to where we need to be as a country when we are fundamentally on the wrong path. We, as citizens, surrendered our power as citizen-rulers in exchange for the promise that technocrats would create a society that offered personal fulfillment and economic well-being. That has proven to be a bad bargain. The only solution is to return to the original vision of the Founders in which citizens themselves must bear the awesome and ennobling responsibility that freedom carries with it and reestablish our society on the basis of “self-interest, properly understood,” in the words of Alexis de Tocqueville.