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Review
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
“Impassioned.”
—Waterloo Region Record
“Hedges is a fine writer. And the outrage that fairly pours off the pages of his book gives it punch and gusto.”
—Winnipeg Free Press
“Insightful. . . . [Hedges] is an engaging writer, and his passion alone makes for a compelling read. . . . Offers those of us who dare to refer to ourselves as liberal a lot to think about.”
—Harvard Political Review
“Hedges raises some critical points that are as convincing as they are depressing. It’s an important little book for anyone who is concerned with the current state of the Democratic Party and liberalism in general.”
—The Huffington Post
“A sophisticated analysis that’s grounded in much more than just political economy.”
—Beams and Struts
“Impassioned.”
—Waterloo Region Record
“Hedges is a fine writer. And the outrage that fairly pours off the pages of his book gives it punch and gusto.”
—Winnipeg Free Press
“Insightful. . . . [Hedges] is an engaging writer, and his passion alone makes for a compelling read. . . . Offers those of us who dare to refer to ourselves as liberal a lot to think about.”
—Harvard Political Review
“Hedges raises some critical points that are as convincing as they are depressing. It’s an important little book for anyone who is concerned with the current state of the Democratic Party and liberalism in general.”
—The Huffington Post
“A sophisticated analysis that’s grounded in much more than just political economy.”
—Beams and Struts
Product Description
The liberal class plays a vital role in a democracy. It gives moral legitimacy to the state. It makes limited forms of dissent and incremental change possible. The liberal class posits itself as the conscience of the nation. It permits us, through its appeal to public virtues and the public good, to define ourselves as a good and noble people. Most importantly, on behalf of the power elite the liberal class serves as bulwarks against radical movements by offering a safety valve for popular frustrations and discontentment by discrediting those who talk of profound structural change. Once this class loses its social and political role then the delicate fabric of a democracy breaks down and the liberal class, along with the values it espouses, becomes an object of ridicule and hatred. The door that has been opened to proto-fascists has been opened by a bankrupt liberalism
The Death of the Liberal Class examines the failure of the liberal class to confront the rise of the corporate state and the consequences of a liberalism that has become profoundly bankrupted. Hedges argues there are five pillars of the liberal establishment — the press, liberal religious institutions, labor unions, universities and the Democratic Party — and that each of these institutions, more concerned with status and privilege than justice and progress, sold out the constituents they represented. In doing so, the liberal class has become irrelevant to society at large and ultimately the corporate power elite they once served.
The Death of the Liberal Class examines the failure of the liberal class to confront the rise of the corporate state and the consequences of a liberalism that has become profoundly bankrupted. Hedges argues there are five pillars of the liberal establishment — the press, liberal religious institutions, labor unions, universities and the Democratic Party — and that each of these institutions, more concerned with status and privilege than justice and progress, sold out the constituents they represented. In doing so, the liberal class has become irrelevant to society at large and ultimately the corporate power elite they once served.
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Most helpful customer reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Political Nostalgia,
By Ian Gordon Malcomson (Victoria, BC) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME) (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Death of the Liberal Class (Hardcover)
Read Hedge's latest essay on the fallen state of American liberalism and you might quickly conclude that something has gone terribly awry in this movement over the past few decades. While at times bordering on a political rant against weak-kneed liberals who have caved into the demands of the conservative establishment, "Death of the Liberal Class" tells a very captivating and complex tale about a force that continues to shape the very backbone of modern society. For Hedges, one of America's leading liberal intellectuals, liberalism has always been about defending the rights of individual to contribute to the greater good of society. Without that purpose or goal being worked out in the lives of individuals in a community, we become non-entities subject to all manner of cruel tyrannies. This book takes the reader through a maze of social and political developments where the forces of liberalism have surrendered the field in the interests of big business, big government, and the easy life. Repeatedly, Hedges stresses that academia, the press, the legal profession and political activists, as a liberal-thinking class, have failed to protect that which has made this country traditionally strong: its preservation of individual liberties. Instead, a false life, as seen in the corporate label, mass consumerism, and the prosecution of war, has emerged where the individual is enslaved to forces well beyond his or her control. This sad state of affairs, Hedges would have us believe, is the direct result of a liberal class refusing to stand up for honesty in government, accuracy in business, and integrity in the arts. To support his argument, Hedges rolls out a lot of evidence from America's recent past that show that liberalism was once a dynamic force for change. The socialist influence in the performing arts coming out of Provincetown in the thirties, the anti-war movement of the sixties, and Nader's crusade for greater consumer protection in the seventies are just a few of the efforts to rally the forces of liberalism against the powers of cultural barbarism. While I am somewhat sympathetic with Hedges' version of history, I tend to be a lot less pessimistic about its outcomes. History contains many forces and counter-forces that guide us into an uncertain future, and liberalism just happens to be a key one that, like its opponent conservatism, tends to morph over time. Its advocates come and go but the force for individual rights and freedoms still plods on. What Hedges might be guilty of in this study is his inability to come to grips with how liberalism is playing out now in the many underground, avant-garde movements democratically springing up all over the country in defence of individual expression. As a balanced thinker, I tend to see the forces of liberal understanding still playing out in all my conservative attitudes. While I accept war as an inconvenient reality of life, I still applaud those who protest its very existence. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to examine where they stand in the great debate on the future of liberalism as a political and moral creed. Hedges is a very passionate and plainspoken writer who can easily draw you into the thick of the discussion as to where you morally stand on critical issues such as this.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brave, Fantastic, and Dreadful !!,
This review is from: Death of the Liberal Class (Hardcover)
Brave for having the courage to clearly state facts and opinions most are fearful of addressing.Fantastic for it's ability to make one critically consider our current societal situation. Dreadful in the picture it paints of a citizenry sleepwalking into diasater. Well written brutal honesty, this is one of the best books I've read in quite some time. Anyone who feels there's something wrong in America today; whether that be economically, politically or socially would be well served by this scathing critique of today's corporate control of our institutions, and the lack of effective resistance against it....scary stuff! If a good book makes you think, then mission accomplished.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
"We have met the enemy and he is us.".....Pogo,
By
This review is from: Death of the Liberal Class (Hardcover)
Like the proverbial frog that finds himself in the pot of ever hotter water, we, too, have become oblivious to the increase in decadence and corruption in our daily lives. The decrease in the compassion for all others, the ever increasing gross materialism, the spread of narcissism throughout our culture and the holding on to the misnomer of "American exceptionalism" has engulfed us without us even being aware of the change.In a style of reporting that even Howard Zinn would approve of, Chris Hedges clearly lays out the road map of where we, as a passionate country, began and where we are now; a nation that looks down on the less fortunate as being less than human, a nation that treasures the 'sacred' words of Limbaugh and Beck, a nation that professes its Christianity in every poll but behave as if the Crusades have never ended, a nation that has taken the concept of freedom of speech and stretched it into the prevalence of hate speech, a country that feels that the 2nd amendment was meant to arm the Conservatives against the Liberals, and, finally, a country that answers the question of "Am I my brother's keeper?" with a resounding "NO!". While some may view the author's determination as being caused by a 'sour grapes' attitude developed towards the New York Times, I do not. I see this book as a last ditch plea for the American public to come to attention, become informed and to begin to take action against the past three decades of corporate take-overs. For as the author states, if we do not do so very quickly as a country, all we have left to do is to simply and selfishly save ourselves from the morass that envelopes the country.
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