This semester, the Society is reading A Time to Build: From Family and Community to Congress and the Campus, How Recommitting to Our Institutions Can Revive the American Dream. Every week, students read a chapter and then virtually meet with Professor Darel Paul for a group discussion.
In A Time to Build, Levin argues that years of institutional failures have sent modern American life into a malaise. Across society, institutions have abandoned their responsibilities to mold their members, resulting in a loss of public trust. Rather than tear down the system, Levin argues that Americans must recommit to building up the institutions that define us. From the military to churches, from families to schools, these institutions provide the forms and structures we need to flourish. By taking concrete steps to help them be more trustworthy, we can renew the ties that bind Americans to one another.
A Time to Build has been named the 2021 ISI Conservative Book of the Year.
Copies of A Time to Build have been generously provided by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.