Lasch continues to enlarge upon ideas introduced in The Culture of
Narcissism (1979), examining the more troubling manifestations of
our "uneasy age" in the fluent style of his other writings.
Primarily he laments the emergence of "survivalism," an orientation
to life characterized by loss of faith in the future and, with it,
a blurring of personal boundaries. (Survivalism is a less easily
misunderstood term than narcissism.) A preoccupation with survival,
its "grave and trivial" forms, persists because of the history of
slaughter in our century and because of the continuing threat of
nuclear war. In a notable chapter, "The Discourse on Mass Death:
'Lessons' of the Holocaust," he deplores the widespread
vulgarization of that unique horror, and reminds us that Bettelheim
and other survivors have stressed not the tactics of survival but
the struggle to remain human under camp conditions. "The Minimalist
Aesthetic" finds in modern art and literature evidence of an
obscured, diminished sense of selfhood in a world without coherent
patterns. When surveying the political landscape, Lasch uses
psychoanalytic terminology (superego, ego) as he constructs and
analyzes common debates about contemporary culture (stronger
authority, moral enlightenment) and traces postwar reformulations
of social theory. Writing from his own, strong philosophical
foundation, he points out contradictions, even counterproductive
ideas, in modern movements for feminism, environmentalism, and
peace (whose goals he nevertheless shares). Throughout, Lasch
answers some critics, clarifies ideas in his work that have
frequently been misrepresented, and details his disagreements with
assorted theorists (Clecak, Yankelovich, Bateson), strategically
repeating themes familiar from earlier writings (the importance of
play, therapeutic intrusions into everyday life). A vigorous,
tightly unified work, characteristically aware of human needs and
the strains in American society that subvert them. (Kirkus Reviews)
"Mr. Lasch has arresting and original things to say. . . . There is much wisdom in his psychopolitical reflections." —Dennis H. Wrong, New York Times Book Review Faced with an escalating arms race, rising crime and terrorism, environmental deterioration, and long-term economic decline, people have retreated from commitments that presuppose a secure and orderly world. Christopher Lasch, the renowned historian and social critic, powerfully argues that self-concern, so characteristic of our time, has become a search for psychic survival.
"Stinging and provocative . . . [by] one of this country's most trenchant social critics." —Jim Miller, Newsweek
"As lucid, suggestive, and meticulous as [The Culture of Narcissism]. . . . With this new essay, Christopher Lasch has extended his invaluable critique of modern culture and its apologists, who must now, like the rest of us, pay close attention to his plea for the establishment of real democracy." —Mark Crispin Miller, The Atlantic
"An important book that offers a new and convincing diagnostic point of view on the interrelations of today's politics and culture." —Library Journal
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