Introduction -- Part I. On utopianism. The tyranny of utopia ; Plato's Republic and the perfect society ; Thomas More's Utopia and radical egalitarianism ; Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan and the all-powerful state ; Karl Marx's Communist manifesto and the class struggle -- Part II. On Americanism. John Locke and the nature of man ; The influence of Locke on the founders ; Charles de Montesquieu and republican government ; The influence of Montesquieu on the framers ; Alexis de Tocqueville and Democracy in America -- Part III. On utopianism and Americanism. Post-constitutional America ; Ameritopia

Levin explores the philosophical basis of America's foundations and the crisis that the government faces today