I have decided to read (or I should say, re-read) The Culture of Narcissism by Christopher Lasch. I can think of no greater piece of work that appropriately explains today’s American culture (or the lack thereof.) I first read this book in graduate school over twenty years ago in an American Studies class. I remember that back then the book made a lot of sense to me, intuitively, even though I did not quite understand much of it.
The Preface of this book speaks of an American populace (circa late 1970s) who have no sense of a past let alone any future. They mistrust authority figures and institutions. They also don’t trust “capitalism” although they act out what they believe is the worst aspect of it—a dog-eat-dog individualism. The universities no longer teach history or sociology. In fact, they no longer appreciate the Humanities at all but instead push a bastardized version of the Liberal Arts. Similarly, “facts” or “truths” mean nothing to the narcissist. As of 2017, the trends that Lasch noted in 1979 have accelerated tenfold. Nowadays, people “debate” based on emotions. There is no attempt at all to arrive at a “truth” or a common understanding.
Freedomswrath 