August 15, 2006
From "Narcissists 'R' Us?"
A reassessment of Christopher Lasch's The Culture of Narcissism at In These Times:
The path toward a more meaningful, collective-oriented future has to begin with an introspective re-evaluation of how narcissism has skewed our personal, social and political lives. Many of us have, consciously or subconsciously, rejected a society that requires incessant self-promotion for economic survival by refusing to center our existences around publicity-seeking approaches to our life and work. In that act of rejection we can find a bit of shelter from the dangers of a hyperinflated ego.But in the absence of a cohesive framework that helps us understand exactly what we’ve rejected (and why), many of us simply retreat from public engagement in what Commonsense Rebellion author and psychologist Bruce Levine characterizes as a “passive-aggressive rebellion against a society that demands we be incessantly self-promoting narcissists in order to survive.”
Perhaps the hope, then, lies in a fuller understanding of what we are reacting to, and a healthier, more humane sense of what we’d rather embrace, including seemingly antiquated notions of honesty, humility, collectivism, ethical conduct and moderation in material possessions.
(Link via PoliticalTheory.info)