Democracy in America

This article by Mark Lilla is almost too pithy for its own good, but it is salvaged by the litany of good points it makes.  I would certainly recommend it, even if only to sate one’s penchant for lengthy and well-designed theory-of-everything articles.  While we are on the subject, Jon Rauch (who else) has a similar article from 1992 that tries to take a wide lens to American political development.