Synopses & Reviews
In the American political vocabulary, "family" and "family values" no longer simply evoke pictures of harmonious scenes; they also push our buttons (left and right) about what is wrong with society. One of the earliest and sharpest cultural commentators to investigate the twentieth-century American family, Christopher Lasch argues in this book that as social science "experts" intrude more and more into our lives, the family's vital role as the moral and social cornerstone of society disintegrates'"and, left unchecked, so does our political and personal freedom.
Mr. Lasch combines an analytic overview of the psychological and sociological literature on the American family with his own trenchant analysis of where the problem lies.
Review
"There is no more brilliant exposure of the collective self-deceptions of a 'therapeutic' society in quest of psychic security. . . . [Lasch's] indispensable contribution is the argument that public concern for the plight of the family has commonly masked efforts to subject the family to new forms of outside influence." David Brion Davis
Review
"A brilliant little book. . . . As an analyst of social science literature on the family, Lasch is superb. On balance, his book is the best essay available today on the modern history of the family." New York Review of Books
Review
"A fascinating, alarming, profound study. . . . [A book] to ponder for years to come." David Hackett Fischer New Republic
Synopsis
One of the earliest and sharpest cultural commentators to investigate the twentieth-century American family, Christopher Lasch argues in this book that as social science "experts" intrude more and more into our lives, the family's vital role as the moral and social cornerstone of society disintegrates--and, left unchecked, so does our political and personal freedom. Mr. Lasch combines an analytic overview of the psychological and sociological literature on the American family with his own trenchant analysis of where the problem lies.
Synopsis
Mr. Lasch combines an analytic overview of the psychological and sociological literature on the American family with his own trenchant analysis of where the problem lies.
About the Author
Christopher Lasch (1932-1994) was also the author of The True and Only Heaven, The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy, and other books.