![]() | Common Sense Common sense has always been a cornerstone of American politics. In 1776, Tom Paine's vital pamphlet with that title sparked the American Revolution. And today, common sense--the wisdom of ordinary people, knowledge so self-evident that it is beyond debate--remains a powerful political ideal, utilized alike by George W. Bush's aw-shucks articulations and Barack Obama's down-to-earth reasonableness. But far from self-evident is where our faith in common sense comes from and how its populist logic has shaped modern democracy. Common Sense: A Political History is the first book to explore this essential political phenomenon. Rosenfeld Sophia : Sophia Rosenfeld is Associate Professor of History at the University of Virginia. |
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