In the introduction to this engaging study of American conservatism, Micklethwait and Wooldridge of the Economist disclaim any allegiance to America's "two great political tribes." It is this Tocquevillian quality of informed impartiality that makes their book so effective at conveying how profoundly the right has reshaped the American political landscape over the past half century. The authors trace the history of the conservative movement from the McCarthy era, when "conservatism was a fringe idea," to the second Bush administration and the "victory of the right." They dissect the new "conservative establishment," which combines the intellectual force of think tanks, business interest groups and sympathetic media outlets with the "brawn" of "footsoldiers" from the populist social conservative wing of the GOP, and argue that continuing Republican hegemony is likely. Democratic optimists who point to favorable demographic trends are exaggerating the liberalism of Latino and professional voters, say the authors, while other factors, such as suburbanization and terrorism, will tend to promote Republican values. Still, the right should be worried about its own "capacity for extremism and intolerance" and about holding together its unlikely alliance of religious moralists and small-government activists. Even so, say the authors, conservative ideas are now so pervasive in American society that even a Kerry administration could do little to divert the country's long-term rightward drift. This epochal political transformation is rarely analyzed with the degree of dispassionate clarity that Micklethwait and Wooldridge bring to their penetrating analysis.

I am curious that an Italian would be reading such a book

One question, does the book portray the right movement as good, bad or is the book written without bias?

Originally Posted by Doody

I am curious that an Italian would be reading such a book

One question, does the book portray the right movement as good, bad or is the book written without bias?

You shouldn't be surprised we have that book in Italy, Doody: What happens in the US does have an enormous impact on the other countries. The Right Nation has been a hit here.
As far as your question, the journalists are pretty fair and balanced and objective, but in reality it's mostly pro- Right movement readers who buy the book. Yeah the book is w/o much bias I would say.