The Rise of the Imperial Self establishes a geneaology of aristocracy and places America firmly within an aristocratic tradition originally articulated by St. Augustine, but adapted to American society by Alexis de Tocqueville. Ronald W. Dworkin then traces the evolution of American culture from Tocqueville's America, when American aristocracy was defined by a love of something beyond the self to today's preoccupation with individuality, self-expression, autonomy, and self-esteem-the \"imperial self.\""Ronald W. Dworkin is a fellow at the Institue for American Values and co-director of the Calvert Institute for Policy Research. | The Rise of the Imperial Self, Paperback | Indigo Chapters