The cynical society
Subtitle: the culture of politics and the politics of culture in American life
By: Jeffrey C. Goldfarb.
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 1991
Place of publication: Chicago
Language: eng
Number of pages: 200
Subjects: Cynicism -- Social aspects -- United States; Politics and culture -- United States -- History -- 20th century; United States -- Civilization -- 1970-; United States -- Social conditions -- 1980-
Description: The Cynical Society is a study of the political despair and abdication of (individual) responsibility Goldfarb calls cynicism--a central but unexamined aspect of contemporary American political and social life. Goldfarb reveals with vivid strokes how cynicism undermines our capacity to think about society's strengths and weaknesses. Drawing on thinkers from Alexis de Tocqueville to Allan Bloom and on such recent works as Beloved, Bonfire of the Vanities, and Mississippi Burning, The Cynical Society celebrates cultural pluralism's role in democracy.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [183]-194) and index.