Crises of the Republic. Lying in Politics; Civil Disobedience; On Violence; Thoughts on Politics and Revolution

In this stimulating collection of studies - three new to book form and the noted essay "On Violence" - Dr. Arendt, from the standpoint of a political philosopher, views the crises of the 1960s and early '70s as challenges to the American form of government. The book begins with "Lying in Politics," a penetrating analysis of the Pentagon Papers that deals with the role of image-making and public relations in politics.
"Civil Disobedience" examines the various opposition movements from the Freedom Riders to the war resisters and the segregationists. "Thoughts on Politics and Revolution," cast in the form of an interview, contains a commentary to the author's theses in "On Violence." Through the connected essays, Dr. Arendt examines, defines, and clarifies the current concerns of the American citizen. A sampler of her thoughts : the oppressed do not lead revolutions and the revolutionaries do not "make" them ; rather, they pick up power that is left "lying in the street" ; capitalism and communism are systems that are both based on expropriation, and neither is the remedy for the other ; American student radicalism has been of worldwide importance primarily because it has been morally motivated, but if students destroy the universities by politicizing them, they destroy the base of their rebellion ; civil disobedience is actually an organized activity, and civil disobedients are neither conscientious objectors nor common lawbreakers but members of "voluntary associations," bound by common opinion, not common interest ; the obligation to obey laws rests in our society on the original universal consensus that is embodied in the Constitution, and the fact that American blacks and Indians were not included underlies their disaffection.