What We're Up Against: The Destructive Force at Work in Our World-and How We Can Defeat It

Our nation now faces a profound crisis. A destructive force has arisen in the American power system and threatens to drive our nation into a future where the many are exploited by a few and where the lie regularly defeats the truth.

How is this force to be understood, and how is it to be defeated?

In WHAT WE’RE UP AGAINST, Andrew Bard Schmookler puts together the pieces of our complex situation to illuminate what has gone wrong in America and how it can be set right.

What others are saying

"Intellectually informative and socially eye-opening...a political treatise that focuses on empowering readers with its ideas." –Kirkus Reviews

“What We’re Up Against illuminates the destructive elements at work in the American political system, but it is far more than a book on politics. Andrew Bard Schmookler offers an eloquent understanding of the forces of good and evil in our world that is as profoundly important as his urgent call to action. Above all, I found this to be a deeply spiritual book whose ultimate message is one of hope. From the brokenness of our times, we can restore wholeness to our nation and our world—if only we can recognize what we're up against. This is truly an outstanding book that deserves to play the role of an Uncle Tom's Cabin for our times.”
--David Spangler, author of Apprenticed to Spirit and Facing the Future.”

“What We’re Up Against is an impressive accomplishment. It integrates contemporary political perspectives with a broad philosophical view. The work is also beautifully written. It has a strong personal voice and yet maintains a kind of crystal lucidity. An amazing piece of work.”
--John Immerwahr, Professor of Philosophy, Villanova University.

“What We're Up Against is a clarion call for Americans who treasure their democratic, pluralistic, socially and environmentally conscious values to fight back and ultimately defeat those forces author Andrew Bard Schmookler sees embodied in today's Republican Party. This book is all heart, soul and patriotic passion. In sum, What We're Up Against is a major achievement.”
--Joseph Montville, Director, Program on Healing Historical Memory, George Mason University.

Andrew Bard Schmookler graduated summa cum laude from Harvard. His Ph. D. (with distinction) was awarded jointly by the University of California, Berkeley, and the Graduate Theological Union in a program created to accommodate his original theory of the evolution of civilization.

He is the author of numerous books on the challenges to create a more human, just, and viable civilization. These books include The Parable of the Tribes: The Problem of Power in Social Evolution, which won the Erik H. Erikson Prize from the International Society for Political Psychology. They also include Out of Weakness: Healing the Wounds that Drive Us to War. The Illusion of Choice: How the Market Economy Shapes Our Destiny, and Debating the Good Society: A Quest to Bridge America's Moral Divide.

Schmookler was the Democratic nominee for Congress in Virginia's 6th District in 2012, where one of his campaign speeches went semi-viral,

Dr. Schmookler was selected by Esquire magazine as one of the men and women who are changing the nation.

Andy has been a talk show host on a commercial radio station with a conservative audience, and on an NPR station with a liberal audience. His op-ed pieces have appeared in newspapers around the nation.

He is married and the father of three grown children.