Reddit reviews The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations
We found 8 Reddit comments about The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
W W Norton Company
Christopher Lasch wrote about this in The Culture of Narcissism Amazon | PDF
It doesn't read so well these days, but this is an excellent summary:
One of his arguments for why everything is so shitty is that Americans no longer live with any respect to the preceding or forthcoming generations. We have forgone the wisdom and teachings of previous generations in exchange for a culture of experts that adopt the superficial signals of knowledge and wisdom, but often fail to deliver. I think this is one of the appeals of JBP. He is a thinker and he isn't afraid to show it, waiting to think before he speaks, struggling with his words, looking off and holding his chin. These are superficial signals charlatans are often afraid to adopt because they would be overacting, or trying too hard to convince you that they are worth listening to. JBP does it genuinely. He's the real deal.
TED talks would be a perfect example. This phenomena is so obvious, they are self-referentially mocking themselves for it:
How to sound smart in your TEDx Talk | Will Stephen | TEDxNewYork
There's no shame in attaching yourself to something external. Just important to have a balance between zealotry and only adopting a superficial identification.
Most Redditors are morons who, because they can see people beneath them in intelligence, conclude that Redditors are smart.
The greater problem it seems to me is narcissism, which one person points out here.
I'll refer you to Christoper Lasch here.
But also, when you can get agreement between the likes of Nietzsche and Francis Fukuyama that the end-effect of a democratic culture is "men without chests" - people who only care about their own luxuries and pleasure to the exclusion of all else - we should probably pay attention. And that's a rather narcissistic kind of person they describe.
The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations was an eye-opening, profound book when it was written 30 years ago. I'd say the ideas are ten times as pertinent today, read it.
You made the right call. Deep relationships are the bedrock of a meaningful life, and the shallowness of modern western relationships is a plague that people overlook. Good for you for choosing your values over pussy, that's a precursor to being a quality man.
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If you're interested in the opinions of men who though more deeply about these problems and offer better solutions than I can, see below.
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Christopher Lasch's *Cutlure of Narcissism*
He does not define narcissism in the Trump way where an individual constantly talks about how great he is, but rather as an emptiness, purposelessness, and general feeling of disconnection to people and the world around you.
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https://www.amazon.com/Culture-Narcissism-American-Diminishing-Expectations/dp/0393307387
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Julius Evola's *Ride the Tiger*
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Evola was an Italian philosopher who believed that history goes through cycles and that we are currently in the dark ages. It is not an easy read and some his ideas are a little out there (don't follow all of his advice, but keep an open mind), but you can see the collapse of long-standing social structures like the family (high divorce rates) and modesty (never-ending ads about sex, all kinds of ridiculous porn, hookup apps). His belief is that while the world might be going mad, you don't have to, and here is advice on how to handle the insanity that exists all around you.
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https://www.amazon.com/Ride-Tiger-Survival-Manual-Aristocrats/dp/0892811250
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