The Social Philosophers by Robert Nisbet is a tour de force through human history and philosophy. He grounds the unifying theme of philosophy in society — or more precisely in community. Nisbet’s vast learning and his training as a sociologist flow from every page. Many readers will know Nisbet’s most popular book, The Quest for Community, as an indictment of an over-encroaching US government in the late twentieth century crowding out private associations and sources of community and, even worse, retarding the creation and development of new civil associations.

On Monday, President Donald Trump ordered 800 National Guard troops to the nation’s capital — a move Princeton University professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad described as “a slide towards fascism” and “textbook” authoritarianism. Claiming emergency powers from the D.C. Home Rule Act, Trump also announced a takeover of the Metropolitan Police.

From time to time, researchers, policy makers, philanthropy and practitioners all join together in a coordinated response to address the most pressing issues facing America’s youth. I’ve been involved with this process for long enough to have participated in each of these roles. I recall during the early 1990s experts promoted the term “resiliency,” which is the capacity to adapt, navigate and bounce back from adverse and challenging life experiences. Researchers and practitioners alike clamored over strategies to build more resilient youth.