Instant Review: Nixon Agonistes

Garry Wills's 600-page tome on Nixon, the '68 campaign, the nation's angst, political philosophy and a lot of other stuff bears the wonkily appropriate title "Nixon Agonistes." The title is drawn from the book (I forget by whom) Simon Agonistes, for "Agonistes" means "actor", similar to "protagonist" (=first actor). Titular vagaries aside, the book is an enjoyable read, if you like serious political philosophy, and bears the marks of a journalist, which Wills is. Will's eye for detail and his ability to bring anecdotes to life saves what would be an otherwise hopeless work.

The book follows no strict chronology as do most biographies; it instead examines the four markets Nixon - as a Classical Liberal - dealt in and believed passionately in (according to Wills). First the moral market, typified by Ralph Waldo Emerson, then the Intellectual Market, typified by John Stuart Mill, then the moral market, and lastly the political market, typified by Nixon's hero: Woodrow Wilson. Wills argues that firm belief in the market uber alles typified Wilson, Hoover, and Nixon, all of whom were classical liberals. He closes his book by arguing strongly against liberalism, saying that the individualism and myths that accompany liberal ideology are incapable of dealing with the complexities of modern society.

To really understand his work I would need a lot more background on philosophy and on Nixon himself; lacking that I am a student more than a critic of Wills' work. I would recommend the book to anyone who really needs to think: that's what I felt the desperate need for a month ago, and now my need has been fulfilled.