The Politics of Moralizing issues a stern warning about the risks of speaking writing and thinking in a manner too confident about one's own judgments and asks Can a clear line be drawn between dogmatism and simple certainty and indignation? Bennett and Shapiro enter the debate by questioning what has become a popular even pervasive cultural narrative told by both the left and the right: the story of the West's moral decline degeneration or confusion. Contributors explore the dynamics and dilemmas of moralizing by advocates of patriotism environmental protection and women's rights while arguing that the current discourse gives free license to self-aggrandizement cruelty vengeance and punitiveness and a generalized resistance to or abjection of diversity. . Language: English