Another reader-review in progress:
Jonah,
I’m to the chapter(s) on the sixties. My read so far, at the risk of sounding like an obsessive, is that book is in many ways an explication from an American perspective of thoughts and concepts of Michael Oakeshott. In particular, what I think you are pointing to is the strength of Oakeshott’s contrast between an enterprise and civil association. The reason that fascism, Nazism, communism, and at times American liberalism have so much in common, appear to be but variations on a theme, is because they are all essentially enterprise associations.
On both the attraction and futility of this conception of politics one can also do worse than read Oakeshott’s retelling of the Tower of Babel myth.
On a more current affairs level, as I read I can’t help but think that this is why conservatives have so much trouble with McCain. His ideas may be more palatable than the progressives, but he comes from the same school of politics.
FYI, check out the “Another Dumb SWAT Raid” post on Instapundit today. Very much within the theme of your book.