In an interview on Intellectual Influences

Let's move forward to another classic work of literary nonfiction, The Education of Henry Adams. Please tell us about Adams and his quasi-autobiography.

It’s a marvellous book. Every American should read it and so should anyone who wants to understand America.

Henry Adams grew up in an aristocratic family. His grandfather was President. His great grandfather was President. He was a perfectly positioned observer of the political scene. His perspective and his longevity gave him a broad view. In his life, from 1838 until 1918, he saw radical change in America – a lot of it for the worse. He saw the country expand economically but he also saw the rise of a class of robber barons. He saw all kinds of corruption in Washington, where he was based. He saw the end of slavery and the reconstruction era, which brought segregation. As he reviews what he saw, he asks himself the question, “Can democracy survive?” His answer to that question was, “What other choice do we have? We have got to make our democracy work.”

As you say, Adams was both sceptical and optimistic about the constitutional system which his forefathers created. What makes you sceptical and what makes you optimistic about how American democracy will survive this century?

There is nothing that I can say about that, which you can't learn better from turning on your television and listening to commentators. There is concern that politics is too polarised. There is concern that it's difficult to think through questions, because the media reports comments made by people in public life in a bad light. There is concern that blogs and the Internet make it worse. I'm sure many criticisms have truth to them and many are exaggerated. But it is up to us to make our system work, whatever the challenges. I think Adams’s attitude is the right one.