From one of today's most respected historians and cultural critics comes this insightful examination of the gulf between two sides of American society -- a division that cuts across class, racial, ethnic, political, and sexual lines. One side originated in the tradition of republican virtue, the other in the counterculture of the late 1960s. Himmelfarb argues that while the latter generated the dominant culture of today -- particularly in universities, journalism, television, and film -- a "dissident culture" continues to promote the values of family, a civil society, sexual morality, privacy, and patriotism.
One Nation, Two Cultures explores the place of religion, family, and the law in American life, and maintains that although there are many legitimate grievances against government, we cannot afford to delegitimize it. Proposing democratic remedies for the moral and cultural disorders of democratic society, Himmelfarb concludes that it is a tribute to Americans that we remain "one nation" even as we are divided into "two cultures."

Ch. I A Historical Prologue: the "Vices of Levity" and the "Diseases of Democracy"
Ch. II Civil Society: "The Seedbeds of Virtue"
Ch. III The Family: "A Miniature Social System"
Ch. IV The Law and Polity: "Legislating Morality"
Ch. V Religion: "The First of Their Political Institutions"
Ch. VI The Two Cultures: "An Ethics Gap"
Epilogue: Some Modest Predictions
Notes
Index