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Personal Character and National Destiny

Personal Character and National Destiny
ISBN
1557788049
Weight
2.00 lbs
Cover
Cloth

Pages
272

Size
6x9

Date Available
2002/03/01


Index , Notes
Price:
$21.95 (21.95)
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Entitlement Mentality
"People today see prosperity as a right, something handed to them, instead of a goal that is earned through character formation and hard work.... Could it be that by advocating the timeless truths of human freedom, responsibility, hard work, and religious faith we can help usher in a new wave of thinking for the twenty-first century?"
—Ryan Richardson, Religion and Liberty

Strong Case for Self-Relaince and Self-Achievement
Professor Jones has made a powerful case for saving the values of an America built on self-reliance and self-achievement from the ever-present danger of the elitists, who abound in the Congress, in academia and in the non-profit think tanks. These elitists would govern us with sumptuary laws and processes, which will gradually devour the seed corn of our country. We must be on guard to maintain a value system based on the individual right to achieve and to be left alone.
—Griffin B. Bell, Law Offices of King & Spalding, U.S. Attorney General (1977-1979)

Africans and Muslims need to read this
What you are saying is so true that one wonders why the established education system never emphasizes the strong correlation between individual responsibility and national prosperity. Instead, the prevailing ideologies finger a scapegoat to explain most of our national disasters.
The role of the Protestant reforms and the evangelical revivals in the Anglosaxon countries needs to be more widely taught in order to help non-europeans better understand the root causes of the American and other western countries civilizational success. This is needed probably now than never before due to the tremendous tragedy we lived on September 11, 2001, in order to show, especially to the Islamic world, the real engine driving the western civilization to success behind the image usually conveyed by Hollywood and the moral relativism taught in the Academy.
—Ambassador Ousmane Moutari, Permanent Representative of Niger to the United Nations.

Relates traditional values to achievement in American history
In plain language, the author of this book warns Americans that if the values upon which this nation was built continue to wane, our beloved country is doomed. This is straight talk about the essentiality of Christianity in the motivation of achievement in America's history and in its future. His message is one which demands our attention.
—D. James Kennedy, Ph.D., Senior Minister, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church

Rise and decline of character led to the rise and fall of Greece and Rome
"The political, social, and economic parallels drawn between the 'rise and fall' of ancient Greece and that of the United States are striking. The 'fall' is conditioned by increased government dependence and bureaucracy, which erodes personal initiatives, freedoms, and character."

Jones' book is a wake-up call
"Economic personalism, the normative philosophical origin of the study of economics, once again proclaims that religion and its shaping of personal character is the prime determinant of national destiny. Jones' book is a wake-up call."
—Gary Quinlivan, Dean of the Alex G. McKenna School at Saint Vincent College and Adjunct Scholar of the Acton Institute

A nation's destiny is the inevitable consequence it's peoples' values
A nation's destiny is not the result of arbitrary fate but the inevitable consequence of the values to which its people subscribe. Numerous historical studies have shown that attitudes with regard to personal excellence, individual accomplishment, and self-control predict national periods of rise, ascendancy and decline.

The people who flocked to America's shores between 1620 and 1900 weren't looking for a hand out. They didn't ask for assistance. All they wanted was liberty to do the best that they could with their lives. It was given to them, and they turned the United States into a land or promise.

A people's values are evident in the literature they create. The most popular works of a hundred and fifty years ago were filled with stories of self-reliance, faith, honesty, perseverance, and victorious achievement. The modern media, by contrast, careen from one "crisis" to the next. The emphasis is on helplessness and victimization. Politicians expand their followings by offering to "help" the citizen with things that he ought to be dealing with himself.

The old emphasis on self-reliance made America great. Will the modern emphasis on dependency destroy her? Read Personal Character and National Destiny.

Contents

Chapter One: The Achieving Society
Introduction: McClelland's Prediction of the Japanese Miracle of the 70s
The Need for Achievement
The Achievement-Oriented Personality
Achievement Orientation: the Source of Social and Economic Progress
Childhood Experiences: The Source of Achievement Motivation
The Values of An Achieving Society
Conclusion: The Situation in Japan

Chapter Two: The Cycles of History
Introduction: The Nature of Historical Cycles
Content Analysis and Historical Categories
Looking for the Achievement Motive in History
The Need for Achievement: Historical Examples
Findings for Modern Societies
The Need for Achievement in Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece: Examples from the Literature
The Death of Achievement Motivation
England
Conclusion: Changes in a Society's Values Predict Its Fate

Chapter Three: The Appearance of Character
Introduction: Religious Faith and Character
The Rule of St. Benedict
The Protestant Reformation
The Appearance of Individualism
The Protestant Ethic
Work and the Quest for Perfection
The Fleeting Moment
Fidelity and Honesty and Family
Attitudes Towards Money
Personal Character and Economic Progress
Personal Character and Political Freedom

Chapter Four: The Literature of Hope
Introduction: Personal Values and the Rise of America
From Rags to Riches in Colonial America
McGuffey's Reader
The Philosophy of Achievement
The Last Hurrah

Chapter Five: The Age of Achievement
Introduction: Achievement Motivation and Nineteenth Century Growth
Andrew Carnegie
Character and the Creation of an Industry
The Mind of the Millionaire
Carnegie the Philanthropist
John D. Rockefeller
A Study in Character
Innovator and Philanthropist
Personal Character and National Prosperity

Chapter Six: Director's Law
Introduction: The Attack on Character and Achievement
The New Aspirations (the result of widespread prosperity)
The New Villains (the myth of the "Robber Barons")
The New Model (the welfare state of Bismarck's Germany)
The New Regulation (the anti-trust laws)
Guilt by Association
Labor Relations
The New Class (government bureaucracy)

Chapter Seven: The Literature of Despair
Introduction: The death of Elbert Hubbard on the Lusitania marked the
passing of faith in the achieving individual
Elbert Hubbard
Upton Sinclair (The Jungle)
George Babbit (Sinclair Lewis)
The New Priesthood
Scientific Management
Mary Parker Follett
Elton Mayo
John Dewey
Conclusion: The Decline of Faith in the Individual

Chapter Eight: The Great Descent
Introduction: Early in the twentieth century politicians began to
Portray themselves as the bringers of prosperity
The Great Depression
The Great Despair
The New Orientation
The Great Liar
The Great Tyranny
The Great War
Conclusion: The Great Tragedy

Chapter Nine: The Literature of Crisis
Introduction: The US has become a crisis-oriented society
Growing Up Absurd (the 1950s)
The Greening of America (the 1960s and 70s)
The Endless Crisis
The New Crises
The Politics of Crisis
The Voice of Crisis (the modern media)

Conclusion: Crisis and Character
Chapter Ten: The Administrative Society
Introduction: Americans' tendency to think of themselves as helpless
children,
the disappearance of character, and the decline of freedom
The New Wealth
The Welfare State
The Redefinition of Property
The New Morality
The Bureaucratic Stranglehold
The Dangerous Apathy
The Disappearance of Character
Destroying the Future
Conclusion

Conclusion: Character and the Future
Introduction: Since I am going to make a prediction, I want to spell out
the assumptions on which it is based
My Assumptions
The Individual and Society
The Meaning of Character
The Roles of Literature and Government
The Age of Descent
Attitudes Toward Achievement
The Ruling Classes
Beginning with the Children
Greek Values at the Beginning of the End
America: Renewal or Decline
On the Verge of Decline
The Hope for Renewal

Notes
Index

HAROLD B. JONES, JR.. served as a pastor and chaplain before becoming a financial planner. In 1997, he received his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Organizational Theory of Management. He has written widely on morality and business ethics.


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