America's Crisis of Values: Reality and Perception

Extract

America's Crisis of Values: Reality and Perception. By Wayne E. Baker. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006. 328p. $18.95.

Wayne Baker's America's Crisis of Values: Reality and Perception offers a recent addition to a growing literature in political science that examines the perception and, perhaps, reality of the polarization of American politics around cultural and moral issues. In this book, Baker sets out to provide an empirical examination of three aspects of America's perceived crisis of values. The first of these is the trend hypothesis: In recent decades, America has experienced a significant decline in its commitment to traditional moral values. The second is the comparison hypothesis: Moral values in the United States have declined relative to most other nations. Third and finally is the distribution hypothesis: Americans have become increasingly polarized in their commitment to traditional moral values.