African Americans and the New Policy Consensus : Retreat of the Liberal State?

This edited collection describes and discusses the advances of African Americans since the 1960s in the context of political philosophy, specifically, utilitarian liberalism revisited as 1980s and 1990s conservatism. Identifying the basic assumptions of utilitarian liberalism with respect to governance and representation, it uses these constructs to explain public policy outcomes in African-American communities. The three core themes are: governance and the role of the state; African American responses and strategies for empowerment; and policy adjustments of the state. It is a major contribution to the discourse on a problem central to contemporary public policy debate: the appropriate role of government in the regulation of public and private behavior to achieve a balance between freedom and justice.