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Title: Congress and the American Tradition (Library of Conservative Thought) by James Burnham, Michael Henry ISBN: 0-7658-0997-4 Publisher: Transaction Pub Pub. Date: April, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.95

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Average Customer Rating: 3 (1 review)

Rating: 3
Summary: Nice history, bad policy prescriptions
Comment: Burnham's book is a fine history of the slow degeneration of Congress as an institution, from it's beginnings as the heart of our gov't, to it's present state as an irritating side show that mainly serves to siphon public money off to various local interests. That, in fact, is one of the things Burnham defends, and this is the book's primary flaw. While it gives a fine account of the creeping imperialism of the executive branch, it offers nothing but jeremiads. The practical solutions to this problem, such as making Congress larger, are not seriously considered. Worse yet is the author's tendency to defend the more backward aspects of Congressional life, such as special interest politics. It is all well and good to say that Congress defends the rights of the few against the many and stands in the path of mob tyrannny, but it is undeniable that it is all to often a leech that exists only to expropriate the wealth of one segment of society and pass it on to another. Burnham's blind allegience to outworn gov't mechanisms is his great flaw. The first principles he adheres to are as valid as ever, but they need a new embodiement more suited to our own times and troubles. Romantic nostalgia for the days of Webster and Calhoun is counterproductive.