The Revolt of the Elites

And the Betrayal of Democracy

Author: Christopher Lasch
ISBN: 0393036995

In this challenging work, Christopher Lasch makes his most accessible critique yet of what is wrong with the values and beliefs of America's 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 America's 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-

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publish Date: 1995-01

Subjects: Political Science / General, Political Science / Political Ideologies / Democracy, Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural & Social

This book is available in the following Community Centers: Cross-Cultural Center (Location: Political Science (POLI))