“This was the perfect book to read over the Christmas Holidays, amid the tinsel and newly wrapped presents, the obnoxiously overdone Christmas displays and endless commercials.
Judt argues that "Something is profoundly wrong with the way we live today. For thirty years we have made a virtue out of the pursuit of material self-interest: indeed, this very pursuit now constitutes whatever remains of our sense of collective purpose."
How could anyone disagree that the (western/developed) world seems increasingly unhappy, living in a disparate and disconnected environment since the crass 1980s? The internet bubble, the housing bubble, the financial bubble - they are all indicative of a society gone awry, where personal gain trumps collective welfare (Judt uses the phrase 'private affluence and public squalor' to great effect). And if one dares to point it out the wave of disdainful criticism is overwhelming (think of the popular right wing critics like Fox news that ridicule real debate, descending to grand-standing polemics).
I think the most disturbing point of Judt's argument is the suggestion that we do not even have a language that allows us to debate (or conceive?) of other alternatives. We are so extreme that our conversations descend into 'ideological cheerleading" matches.
Well worth the read, regardless of your political bent - it is perhaps the beginning of a balanced dialogue and an outlook that ceases to glorify economics at the expense of the public good, the environment, culture and society.
As a side note, I believe that late Jack Layton, before his untimely death, was trying to capture exactly these sentiments. Good for you, Jack.
”
Lisa K wrote this review Friday, January 6, 2012.
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