Abstract

Reinhold Niebuhr was a crucial figure in the cultural and political life of the United States. The author, through the discussion of two recent books of Giovanni Dessì (Intelligenza e potere, 2021) and Luisa Borghesi (Il senso della storia, 2021), reflects on the protestant theologian’s influence in the American public debate during the twentieth century. Niebuhr was a proponent of a wide range of debates on political, religious, ethical, and cultural issues with other seminal thinkers (American or refugee), including John Dewey, Paul Tillich, Karl Löwith, George F. Kennan, Hans J. Morgenthau, and Martin Luther King Jr. By discussing the theses of Dessì and Borghesi, the author points out Niebuhr’s innate ability to be a bridge between the American and European traditions