The Spirit of Disobedience: Politics, Consumption, and the Culture of Total Work (Unabridged‪)‬

How shall we live? The answer to this question examines our culture's attitudes toward free time, home, and food. Are corporate profits really the measure of success? Are increasingly long work hours productive of happiness and satisfaction? Can we lead lives devoid of spirituality?

With his trademark intelligence and humor, Curtis White argues that the American left needs a new and compelling spiritual basis for its politics, and that its seeds can be discovered in Thoreau's spiritual politics of refusal and a return to human "fundamentals" especially work, home, and food. Along the way, White offers a shrewd reading of the cult classic film Office Space, a scathing critique of Bill Maher's political comedy, and other acerbic cultural commentary.