http://www.claremont.org/publications/pubid.664/pub_detail.asp
This article is written by a former student of Bloom’s who was inspired to follow political philosophy. The author finds several flaws with the way that Bloom addresses the American foundation and founder’s mission. His explanations of some of the points that Bloom makes helped me clear up some of my confusion between the variations of philosophy in his book. There is a definite assertion that Bloom is an elitist and how his misconceptions are due to his own “snobbishness”. This article argues that though America has been modernized, it is not bad and our evolution has not necessarily been destructive.
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This article, much like any examination of our founding and accompanying American political thought, is cause for reflection on how those initial philosophies have evolved over the centuries and in what present manifestation they may be seen. Though Thomas West covered a multitude issues in his article, it was the topic of the “passions of man” and their relationship to the creation of the American system that was most interesting to me, because I felt that Bloom had misjudged what people like Washington, Hamilton, and Adams were creating for this country. Bloom felt that the Founders created a system that enabled the passions of man to be unleashed into whatever endeavor they saw fit, which lay the groundwork for the sea of relativism that he sees us wading through today. However, this characterization is simply not fact. The ideals of freedom and liberty (for the most part) were thought of in economic terms. They wanted a system that would allow individuals the freedom to make a living how they saw fit. The political system was something completely different; it was a system of restraint and temperance that feared the passions of the people to the extent that they actually made it difficult for popular opinion to directly affect the process. It is a very important distinction to make when discussing the creation of the American system, and I was glad to see the author of this article bring a better, more holistic picture of our founders and their motives. Bloom’s misinterpretation of these events has probably aided in his skewed view of the current American system and possibly what role the public education is to play within it. Very interesting article
A great article and a good post, with the only thing missing being a bit more of your own views on what West has to say.
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