nationalism & imperialism (jim o'connor)

Carl Remick carlremick at hotmail.com
Wed Jan 19 06:51:40 PST 2000



>Also in the backsliding category, I don't see individualism,
>self-help, or autonomy as necessarily bad. Depends on the
>context.

Absolutely. On the one hand, you have Emerson's admirable "Self-Reliance" (e.g., "To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart, is true for all men, -- that is genius." ... "In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts: they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.") On the other hand, you have Christopher Lasch's pathological "Culture of Narcissism." IMO, the negative aspects of individualism have gotten worse as we have shifted from a producer to a consumer society. You have worthwhile opportunities to express your individualism as a artisan, but as a consumer, your means of expression is increasingly restricted to the choice of what logo you wear.

Carl

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