In this convulsive and dispiriting political moment, we are inclined to look to the past for imagined alternatives to the deeply entrenched patterns of inequality, racism, and gender discrimination that beset us. And although the social movements of the twentieth century offer many examples of struggle and vision, it was during the nineteenth century that the foundations of modern American society were being constructed and hotly contested. Between 1820 and 1900, so much of what became normative and naturalized was put on the table for discussion and debate, and, most powerfully, galvanized movements of unprecedented size and scope. Slavery, racial exclusions, civil and political rights, and temperance are perhaps the best known, yet also on the table were private property, marriage, the boundaries of sexuality, communitarianism, the wages system, and the nature of money. What we had in this period were, simultaneously, a full-on view of the main roads of power, ideology, and organization together with glimpses of serious—though often forgotten—alternative pathways. The books under review offer us perspectives on each.

中文翻译：

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激进主义的界限

在这个令人不安和令人沮丧的政治时刻，我们倾向于回顾过去，寻找可以替代困扰我们的根深蒂固的不平等、种族主义和性别歧视模式的替代方案。尽管 20 世纪的社会运动提供了许多斗争和愿景的例子，但正是在 19 世纪，现代美国社会的基础正在构建和激烈竞争。在 1820 年到 1900 年之间，如此多的规范化和自然化的东西被摆上讨论和辩论的桌面，最有力的是，激发了前所未有的规模和范围的运动。奴隶制、种族排斥、公民和政治权利以及节制可能是最广为人知的，但同样摆在桌面上的还有私有财产、婚姻、性的界限、社群主义、工资制度、和金钱的本质。同时，我们对权力、意识形态和组织的主要道路有一个全面的了解，同时也瞥见了一些严肃的——尽管经常被遗忘的——替代途径。正在审查的书籍为我们提供了对每个的看法。