The Twilight of American Culture

morris berman

An emerging cult classic about America's cultural meltdown―and a surprising solution. A prophetic examination of Western decline, The Twilight of American Culture provides one of the most caustic and surprising portraits of American society to date. Whether examining the corruption at the heart of modern politics, the "Rambification" of popular entertainment, or the collapse of our school systems, Morris Berman suspects that there is little we can do as a society to arrest the onset of corporate Mass Mind culture. Citing writers as diverse as de Toqueville and DeLillo, he cogently argues that cultural preservation is a matter of individual conscience, and discusses how classical learning might triumph over political correctness with the rise of a "a new monastic individual"―a person who, much like the medieval monk, is willing to retreat from conventional society in order to preserve its literary and historical treasures. "Brilliantly observant, deeply thoughtful ....lucidly argued."― Christian Science Monitor

Genres nonfictionsociologypoliticshistoryculturalphilosophyeducationsocietyamericancultural studies

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,2000

Series

Decline of the American Empire

This edition

Format: 224 pages, Paperback
Published: June 17, 2001 by W. W. Norton \u0026 Company
ISBN: 9780393321692
ASIN: 039332169X
Language: English

About the author

morris berman

Distinguished cultural historian and social critic Morris Berman has spent many years exploring the corrosion of American society and the decline of the American empire. He is the author of the critically acclaimed works The Twilight of American Culture, a New York Times Book Review "Notable Book," and Dark Ages America."