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In
Our Own Worst Enemy, Tom Nichols challenges the current depictions of the rise of illiberal and anti-democratic movements in the United States and elsewhere as the result of the deprivations of globalization or the malign decisions of an undifferentiated "elite." Rather, he argues that too many of us have succumbed to a toxic cocktail of growing narcissism and increasing expectations fueled by affluence, peace, and a connected global culture, which in turn are exploited by political entrepreneurs who encourage reinforcing cycles of perceived relative deprivation, political alienation, unvirtuous political (and social) behavior, and who provide targets for subsequent bouts of unfocused rage.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
- Preface
- Introduction: Our Own Worst Enemy
- 1. A Hunger for Apocalypse: The Perils of Peace and Plenty
- 2. The Nicest People You'll Ever Dislike: When Good Neighbors Are Bad Citizens
- 3. "Is There No Virtue among Us?" Democracy in an Age of Rage and Resentment
- 4. System Failure? Human Suffering and the Case against Liberal Democracy
- 5. Hello, I Hate You: How Hyper-Connection Is Destroying Democracy
- Conclusion: Is There a Road Back?
- Notes
- Index
Über den Autor / die Autorin
Tom Nichols is Professor Emeritus of National Security Affairs, US Naval War College, and a staff writer at The Atlantic. He is the author of The Death of Expertise (Oxford 2017), No Use: Nuclear Weapons and US National Security (2013), and Eve of Destruction: The Coming Age of Preventive War (2008). He is also an instructor at the Harvard Extension School and an adjunct professor at the US Air Force School of Strategic Force Studies. He is a former aide in the US Senate and has been a Fellow of the International Security Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Zusammenfassung
A contrarian yet highly engaging account of the spread of illiberal and anti-democratic sentiment throughout our culture that places responsibility on the citizens themselves.
Over the past three decades, citizens of democracies who claim to value freedom, tolerance, and the rule of law have increasingly embraced illiberal politicians and platforms. Democracy is in trouble—but who is really to blame?
In Our Own Worst Enemy, Tom Nichols challenges the current depictions of the rise of illiberal and anti-democratic movements in the United States and elsewhere as the result of the deprivations of globalization or the malign decisions of elites. Rather, he places the blame for the rise of illiberalism on the people themselves. Nichols traces the illiberalism of the 21st century to the growth of unchecked narcissism, rising standards of living, global peace, and a resistance to change. Ordinary citizens, laden with grievances, have joined forces with political entrepreneurs who thrive on the creation of rage rather than on the encouragement of civic virtue and democratic cooperation. While it will be difficult, Nichols argues that we need to defend democracy by resurrecting the virtues of altruism, compromise, stoicism, and cooperation—and by recognizing how good we've actually had it in the modern world.
Trenchant, contrarian, and highly engaging, Our Own Worst Enemy reframes the debate about how democracies have ended up in this dire state of affairs and what to do about it.
Zusatztext
There are few silver linings to the monstrous transformation of the American right: one has been discovering the stalwart minority of decent, intelligent, honest conservatives who fiercely and absolutely reject the party of Trump—such as Tom Nichols. Our Own Worst Enemy is his thoughtful and thought-provoking diagnosis of our urgent democratic crises, which provided me the important pleasure of enjoying, learning from, and arguing with it.
