Ill Fares The Land
A Treatise On Our Present Discontents
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
'Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
Where wealth accumulates, and men decay' - Oliver Goldsmith
Something is profoundly wrong with the way we live today. For thirty years we have made a virtue out of the pursuit of material self-interest: indeed, this very pursuit now constitutes whatever remains of our sense of shared purpose. But we have forgotten how to think about the life we live together: its goals and purposes. We are now not only post-ideological; we have become post-ethical. We have lost touch with the old questions that have defined politics since the Greeks: is it good? Is it fair? Is it just? Is it right? Will it help bring about a better society? A better world? The social contract that defined postwar life in Europe and America - the guarantee of security, stability and fairness - is no longer assured; in fact, it's no longer part of collective conversation.
In this exceptional short book, Tony Judt reveals how we have arrived at our present dangerously confused moment and masterfully crystallizes our great unease, showing how we might yet think ourselves out of it. If we are to replace fear with confidence then we need a different story to tell, about state and society alike: a story that carries moral and political conviction. Providing that story is the purpose of this book.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
James Adams delivers a noteworthy performance in this audio version of Judt s manifesto on how humanity has arrived at a potentially disastrous place in history and how we must rework out contract with society and the state to preserve our economy and our environment for future generations. Adams s reading is compelling and confident; he is elucidative without being didactic. With a steady pace and reflective tone, he expertly brings to the reader the late Judt s cri de coeur for the Left to revitalize and reorganize itself. A Penguin Press hardcover.