How our economic rights are fundamental to the security and stability of our democracy. In 1944, Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave a State of the Union Address that should be counted as the greatest political speech of the twentieth century. In it, Roosevelt grappled with the definition of security in a democracy, concluding that "unless there is security here at home, there cannot be lasting peace in the world." To help ensure that security, he proposed a "Second Bill of Rights"-economic rights that he saw as necessary to political freedom, including a right to education, a right to adequate health care, a right to a home, and a right to protection against destitution. Many of the great legislative achievements of the past eighty years stem from Roosevelt's vision. In The Second Bill of Rights, Cass Sunstein uses this speech as a launching point to show how these rights are vital to the continuing security of our nation. This is an ambitious, sweeping book that argues for a new vision of FDR, of constitutional history, and our current political scene that has never been more urgent or more relevant.
| ISBN: | 9780262553841 |
| Publication date: | 19th August 2025 |
| Author: | Cass R Sunstein |
| Publisher: | The MIT Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 304 pages |
| Genres: |
Political economy |
How our economic rights are fundamental to the security and stability of our democracy. In 1944, Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave a State of the Union Address that should be counted as the greatest political speech of the twentieth century. In it, Roosevelt grappled with the definition of security in a democracy, concluding that "unless there is security here at home, there cannot be lasting peace in the world." To help ensure that security, he proposed a "Second Bill of Rights"-economic rights that he saw as necessary to political freedom, including a right to education, a right to adequate health care, a right to a home, and a right to protection against destitution. Many of the great legislative achievements of the past eighty years stem from Roosevelt's vision. In The Second Bill of Rights, Cass Sunstein uses this speech as a launching point to show how these rights are vital to the continuing security of our nation. This is an ambitious, sweeping book that argues for a new vision of FDR, of constitutional history, and our current political scene that has never been more urgent or more relevant.
The Second Bill of Rights features in the following genres: Political economy
The Second Bill of Rights is available in Paperback
The Second Bill of Rights was written by Cass R Sunstein and published by The MIT Press
The Second Bill of Rights has 304 pages
£34.20