Here's a story that combines all - or at least most - of the elements that point to the demise of Western civilization: bureaucracy that permeates every last aspect of human life, nanny-state-ism, technocratic blindness to common sense and the patently obvious, and preoccupation with the silly while real crises go completely unaddressed.
See eif you're not embarrassed for your species after reading it.
You might consider "Hopeful Pessimism" as advocated in the following work I am perusing, courtesy of my local (socialist?) public library, but you can throw down 30 smackers plus the tax at gunpoint for it if it makes you feel better:
ReplyDeleteScruton's argument is nuanced, however, and his preference for pessimism is not a dark view of human nature; rather his is a 'hopeful pessimism' which urges that instead of utopian efforts to reform human society or human nature, we focus on the only reform that we can truly master -- the improvement of ourselves through the cultivation of our better instincts.
"Written in Scruton's trademark style-- erudite, sweeping in scope across centuries and cultures, and unafraid to offend-- this book is sure to intrigue and provoke readers concerned with the state of Western culture, the nature of human beings, and the question of whether social progress is truly possible."
Read more at: http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Philosophy/HumanNature/?view=usa&ci=9780199747535
Looks like Daddy's kind of book, big-time. Downloading it to my Kindle now.
ReplyDelete