Examines "Adam Smith, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Charles Darwin, and Karl Marx--heirs of the Enlightenment who embodied its highest ideals about progress--and shows how their thoughts, over time and in the hands of their followers and opponents, transformed the very nature of our beliefs, institutions, economies, and politics"--Amazon.com

40025044583

Adam Smith: the science of man, morality, and money -- Karl Marx: the tragic consequences of a brilliant theory -- Charles Darwin: struggle and selection in the realm of ideas -- Making democracy: the Jefferson-Hamilton debates -- Counter-enlightenment: from anti-modernism to fascism -- Modernizing an ancient god: evangelical Christianity in America -- Purifying Islam: the Muslim reaction against the Western enlightenment -- Conclusion: the power of ideas and the importance of the humanities