Summary of Christopher Lasch's The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy

Everest Media

Description

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.
Sample Book Insights:
#1 The threat to social order today comes from those at the top of the social hierarchy, not the masses. The elites who control the international flow of money and information, and who manage the instruments of cultural production, have lost faith in the values of the West.
#2 Upper-class liberals have a difficult time understanding why their hygiene-obsessed lifestyle doesn’t appeal to everyone. They have tried to sanitize American society, but they fail to understand why people don’t want to be sanitized.
#3 The new elites, the professional classes, view the masses with both contempt and apprehension. They are both arrogant and insecure, and they regard the masses with mingled scorn and apprehension.
#4 The global disparity between wealth and poverty is clear evidence of the historic reversal. The crisis of the middle class, and not simply the growing chasm between wealth and poverty, needs to be emphasized in a sober analysis of our prospects.

Sujets

• Political Ideologies
• Democracy

Informations

• Publié par: Everest Media LLC
• Date de parution: 27 avril 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669393153
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Insights on Christopher Lasch's The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy
Contents Insights from Chapter 1 Insights from Chapter 2 Insights from Chapter 3
Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The threat to social order today comes from those at the top of the social hierarchy, not the masses. The elites who control the international flow of money and information, and who manage the instruments of cultural production, have lost faith in the values of the West.

#2

Upper-class liberals have a difficult time understanding why their hygiene-obsessed lifestyle doesn’t appeal to everyone. They have tried to sanitize American society, but they fail to understand why people don’t want to be sanitized.

#3

The new elites, the professional classes, view the masses with both contempt and apprehension. They are both arrogant and insecure, and they regard the masses with mingled scorn and apprehension.

#4

The global disparity between wealth and poverty is clear evidence of the historic reversal. The crisis of the middle class, and not simply the growing chasm between wealth and poverty, needs to be emphasized in a sober analysis of our prospects.

#5

The changing class structure in the United States is reflected in the fact that the top 20 percent of income earners now control half the country’s wealth. The middle class, which was 65 percent of the population in 1970, has decreased to 58 percent in 1985.

#6

The upper middle class, which makes up the majority of the country’s 20 percent, is defined by a way of life that differs from the rest of the population. They are professionals and managers who rely on two-career marriages to provide them with an income.

#7

The new elites are made up of brokers, bankers, real estate promoters and developers, engineers, consultants of all kinds, systems analysts, scientists, doctors, publicists, publishers, editors, advertising executives, art directors, moviemakers, entertainers, journalists, and television producers and directors. They have little in common with the masses of Americans not yet plugged into the network of global communications.

#8

The new brain workers, producers of high-quality insights in a variety of fields ranging from marketing and finance to art and entertainment, operate best in teams. They are equal to any challenge. They love their work, which engages them in lifelong learning and endless experimentation.

#9

Only in a world in which words and images bear less resemblance to the things they appear to describe would it be possible for a man like Reich to refer to himself as secretary of labor. The last time the best and brightest got control of the country, they dragged it into a prolonged, demoralizing war in Southeast Asia.

#10

The best and brightest believe they deserve their position due to their intelligence alone, and they have little sense of ancestral gratitude or of an obligation to live up to responsibilities inherited from the past.

#11

In the 19th century, the rise of meritocracy was accompanied by the redistribution of intelligence between the classes. Thanks to industry’s adoption of intelligence testing, the abandonment of the principle of seniority, and the growing influence of the school, the talented were given the opportunity to rise to the level which accords with their capacities.

#12

The success of the British system of elite recruitment, which resulted in a seemingly democratic system of elite privilege, was due to the fact that it made elites more secure than ever in their privileges while nullifying working-class opposition.

#13

The new class of therapists tries to counter the sense of failure in those who fail to climb the educational ladder, while leaving the existing structure of elite recruitment intact.

#14

The top 20 percent have made themselves independent of crumbling industrial cities and public services. They have removed themselves from the common life, and many have ceased to consider themselves Americans in any meaningful sense.

#15

The world of the late 20th century is strange. On the one hand, it is now unified through the agency of the market. On the other hand, tribal loyalties are aggressively promoted.