Introduction -- Part I. On utopianism. The tyranny of utopia; Plato's Republic and the perfect society; Thomas More's Utopia and radical egalitarianism; Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan and the all-powerful state; Karl Marx's Communist manifesto and the class struggle -- Part II. On Americanism. John Locke and the nature of man; The influence of Locke on the founders; Charles de Montesquieu and republican government; The influence of Montesquieu on the framers; Alexis de Tocqueville and Democracy in America -- Part III. On utopianism and Americanism. Post-constitutional America; Ameritopia.