Just a short post tonight. Although published in 2010, I finally got around to reading this book. I cannot recommend it highly enough for a terrific, seasoned, educated discussion regarding ways we as a society can reclaim our social democratic roots (and cast off over 30 years of criminal, defacing, and shameless neoliberalism). I especially found his discussions of 60s counterculture revealing --it's common knowledge today that many folks of that spirited and so-called rebellious time ended up as CEOs of some of the biggest douche-bag corporations on the planet. After reading "Ill Fares the Land," you'll have a very good idea of exactly why that happened. It's a very humane, down to earth book steeped in first class scholarship and an ironclad sense of history. Judt has that very rare talent of combining scholarship with a nuanced, cogent writing style (which takes a lot more work and talent than most so-called "eclectic" and/or scholarly works). Recommended!
Here's a link to the opening chapter: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/apr/29/ill-fares-the-land/?pagination=false
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