Christopher Lasch

The new radicalism in America, 1889-1963 : the intellectual as a social type

Christopher Lasch has examined the role of women and the family in Western society throughout his career as a writer, thinker, and historian. In Women and the Common Life, Lasch suggests controversial linkages between the history of women and the course of European and American history more generally. He sees fundamental changes in intimacy, domestic ideals, and sexual politics taking place as a result of industrialization and the triumph of the market. Questioning a static image of patriarchy, Women and the Common Life insists on a feminist vision rooted in the best possibilities of a democratic common life. In her introduction to the work, Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn offers an original interpretation of the interconnections between these provocative writings.

Liberalism and Civic Virtue

The collapse of communism as a serious competitor to liberal capitalism has generated a state of euphoria among liberals of the Right and Center, qualified only by the reflection that the “end of history,” in Francis Fukuyamas celebrated phrase, will be a “very sad time” for those who value “daring, courage, imagination, and idealism.” The “unabashed victory of economic and political liberalism,” as Fukuyama sees it, means the universal rule of law, the globalization of the “classless society” that has already been achieved in the US, a steady expansion of the supply of consumer goods, a “universal homogenous state,” and a “post-historical consciousness” in which “ideological struggle … will be replaced by economic calculation, the endless solving of technical problems, environmental concerns, and the satisfaction of sophisticated consumer demands.”

Birth, Death and Technology: The Limits of Cultural Laissez‐Faire

(jI by CHRISTOPHER LASCH ndividualism has been essential to the growth of liberal democracy in the West. The essence of the democratic state is that it acts directly on individuals-rather than on corporations or estates-and that it treats all citizens alike; it is in this sense that the modern state represents the substitution of reason (embodied in the law) for force and favoritism. At the same time the modern state presupposed the redefinition of many activities, formerly regarded as matters concerning the entire community, as essentially private affairs, with which the state had no right to interfere. Economic life, for example, which had once been subjected to innumerable regulations, both local and national, came to be regarded, in the late 18th century, as a self-regulating mechanism requiring only that the state enforce the general rules of fair play and free competition. The achievement of economic individualism, in the 18th and 19th centuries, was paralleled by the triumph of individualism in cultural life. Religion offers the clearest example. The principle of religious freedom, first officially recognized in Virginia in 1784, and later written into the Bill of Rights, meant that religious belief was henceforth to be regarded as a purely private affair, something between the individual and his maker.

Narcissism and the Problem of "Morale"

Randolph Bourne pointed out a long time ago that modern war has made patriotism superfluous. During World War I, young men submitted to the draft, according to Bourne, not because they wanted to make the world safe for democracy or even because they were eager to take part in a holy war against the Huns, but because they saw no alternative to military service. “Conscientious objection,” an isolated gesture devoid of political content, appeared as meaningless as death on the battlefield. Men served in the armed forces because they could not avoid serving. The power of the state, Bourne wrote, rested on “coercion from above…rather than patriotism from below” — on acquiescence rather than cooperation.

The Culture of Narcissism

An ancient story from Greek mythology provides a door into the world of the narcissist. It centers on a very handsome young man called Narcissist. So attractive was this man that all the girls fell in love with him. He was aware of his charms and this made him arrogant and proud. Despite the efforts of the ladies to win his affections he ignored their overtures. One was especially attracted to him and did everything she could to win his attention. She too failed in her attempts. So desperate was she to win him that she prayed to a goddess that Narcissist would respond favorably. There was no answer. Finally with a broken heart she prayed that he would learn as she had what it was like to experience unrequited love. To this prayer there was an answer. One day as Narcissist was walking through the forest he stumbled upon a clear pool of water. As he knelt to drink for he was very thirsty the loveliest sight that had ever appeared captivated his attention. He immediately fell in love. So great was his attraction that he could not leave the pool and his appetite vanished. Before long his health deteriorated and he began to fade. In the end he died staring at this image in the pool striving the embrace the one object of his desire himself.

The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy.

In this challenging work, Christopher Lasch makes his most accessible critique yet of what is wrong with the values and beliefs of Americas professional and managerial elites. The distinguished historian argues that democracy today is threatened not by the masses, as Jose Ortega y Gasset (The Revolt of the Masses) had said, but by the elites. These elites - mobile and increasingly global in outlook - refuse to accept limits or ties to nation and place. Lasch contends that, as they isolate themselves in their networks and enclaves, they abandon the middle class, divide the nation, and betray the idea of a democracy for all Americas citizens. The book is historical writing at its best, using the past to reveal the roots of our current dilemma. The author traces how meritocracy - selective elevation into the elite - gradually replaced the original American democratic ideal of competence and respect for every man. Among other cultural trends, he trenchantly criticizes the vogue for self-esteem over achievement as a false remedy for deeper social problems, and attacks the superior pseudoradicalism of the academic left. Brilliantly he reveals why it is no wonder that Americans are apathetic about their common culture and see no point in arguing politics or voting. In a powerful final section Lasch traces the spiritual crisis of democracy. The elites, having jettisoned the moral and ethical guidelines provided by religion, cling to the belief that through science they can master their fates and escape mortal limits. In pursuit of this illusion they have become infatuated with the global economy. Their revolt, the author warns, is diminishing what is worthwhile about American life. Thisvolume, completed just before the authors death, continues in his tradition of vigorous and original thought and should stir soul-searching among readers concerned about the future of America and its democracy.

Aging in a Culture without a Future

No More Dying: The Conquest of Aging and the Extension of Human Life. By Joel Kurtzman and Phillip Gordon. Prolongevity. By Albert Rosenfeld.