Michael Foley 
Laws, Men and Machines 
Modern American Government and the Appeal of Newtonian Mechanics

First published in 1990, Laws, Men and Machines is an original interpretation of the lasting influence that Newtonian mechanics has had on the design and operation of the American political system. The author argues that it is this mechanistic tradition that now instinctively shapes the way we conceive of, analyse, and evaluate American politics, and that the Newtonian conception of the world still finds expression in the ”checks and balances” of the American system.