Culture of Narcissism

[Stephen Colbert]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idVqsRqtJMs

@ 0:18.

Is the interest of radical politics a way to make yourself seem larger and more important than you really are? Does it serve psychological needs and not political needs?

[Sperm-Doll Setsuna]

Is the interest of radical politics a way to make yourself seem larger and more important than you really are? Does it serve psychological needs and not political needs?

Nonsense.

Is this even the right place for this discussion?

[Qayin]

Fuck that horseshit

[Nolan]

Hahaha

[khad]

I recommend taking a look at Lasch's book. It is fascinating simply because it's such an utter chimera, a bizarre academic mutation that became way too popular and influential for its own good.

It was written at a transitional point in Lasch's career, when he was moving away from Marxism towards a distinctly American style of small producerist populism. You see flashes of his earlier lucidity, as well as troubling hints of what came later--his misogyny, his provincialism, etc. Though he doesn't explicitly state it, his antidote to the modern capitalist culture of narcissism is the retreat into an idealized past, or at least a reassertion of earlier models of masculinity associated with preindustrial societies.

Overall, the book is an extension--albeit a rather schizophrenic one--of 1950s corporate sociology that explored distinctions among tradition-directed (feudal), inner-directed (pre-industrial and early industrial capitalism), and outer-directed (advanced capitalist) personality types.

Lasch says a lot of interesting things, but always take them with a grain of salt.

[RadioRaheem84]

Though he doesn't explicitly state it, his antidote to the modern capitalist culture of narcissism is the retreat into an idealized past, or at least a reassertion of earlier models of masculinity associated with preindustrial societies.



Eeep. He sounds like early italian fascist theotricians.