This distinctive readerthe only collection of critical readings on American government availabletakes students far beyond the mainstream debate between liberalism and conservatism to fundamentally challenge the status quo.Voices of Dissentprovides a systematic series of critical perspectives on American politics that goes beyond the debate between mainstream liberalism and conservatism. This text nurtures students'abilities to critically assess the "givens" of political and economic life in the United States. A recurrent theme in the selections is political economy and the tension between capitalism and democracy.