This is a multi-part series reviewing the book "The Culture Of Narcisism" by Christopher Lasch. Subsequent posts will become more in-depth as I move farther along in the book and my analysis is either changed by his argument or I will argue against his assertions. And, yes, the book is that dense the chapters need to be broken up.
Please keep in mind this book was published in the 1970's. Very important point because he isn't talking about generation X or Y. You might be able to argue he was talking about the earliest people of the generation X, but his focus is on generations leading up to the 60's. He focuses in particular on people who were teenagers/20-something's in the 60's who hit their 30's and early 40's in the 70's.
CHAPTER 1: THE AWARENESS MOVEMENT & THE SOCIAL INVASION OF SELF
Lasch opens with quote by Donald Barthelme:
Quote:Quote:
The Marivaudian being, is, according to Poulet, a pastless futureless man born anew every minute. The instants are points which organize themselves into a line, but what is important is the instant, not the line. The Marivaudian being has in a sense no history. Nothing follows from what has gone before. He is constantly surprised. He cannot predict his own reaction to events. He is constantly amazed being overtaken by events. A condition of breathlessness and dazzlement surrounds him.
Lasch opens with a discussion about the waning sense of historical time the present generation has. He notes the obsession with imminent doom coming to America, in the form of jack-booted Russian Communists, nuclear bomb, the coming Ice Age, etc. People either surround themselves with modern technology - a bomb shelter - or return to primitive roots to complete eschew modern technology - communes or right-wing survivalists.
The political upheaval of the 60's has lead to the modern American to retreat to purely personal obsessions - psychic awareness, dancing, gluttony, jogging, "getting in touch with their feminine/masculine side." This retreat from the levels of social consciousness displayed by previous generation - usually ported out by rage/anxiety/nothing (emotionaless expression) that political solutions don't work - has devolved into the obsession with the self. Unattached to the parental generation and unconcerned with the coming or younger generation, the present generation has little concern for anything but superficial self-obsessions aimed at therapy.
Lasch makes a quick detour to explain how this approach is not religious, as some commentators have argued. He points to numerous historical religious movements that had all had levels of social consciousness, desire for fair justice and lessening of class boundaries - i.e. "spread the wealth around." His point here is that most, if not all religions, were rooted in concern for others. His most salient point is about primitive Christianity, which was concerned with abolishment of private property, social justice and a pronounced sense of worry to leave society better off for future generation while honoring the toiling of the previous generations.
Lasch, then, moves into the concept of the theraputic sensibility. His overarching point is that people, generally, are not seeking real, substantive therapy, but the fleeting and momentary illusion of personal well-being or contentment.
In the 60's, the emerging generation used radical politics to fill the void in their emotional/psychological. Rage, anxiety and narcissistic valuation could all be ported out in the ideologically churning world of the 60's. Many college students would describe the electric feeling of connectedness they would feel at political rallies, that they finally had a purpose and had value. They basked in the perceived brilliance of radical liberal leaders. However, a curious phenomenon that this leaders were routinely cast aside and devalued as their brilliance always disappointed.
He further argues that these sorts of politics was about establishing an identity, not subsuming their identity to a large value system. This is crucial, as it means the approaches taken here are not religious, but therapeutic.
![[Image: 9780847682195_p0_v1_s260x420.JPG]](http://img2.imagesbn.com/p/9780847682195_p0_v1_s260x420.JPG)
He observes the earliest form of American narcissism was the Jeffersonian concept that the world exists for the living. The "imperial self" celebrated in nineteenth-century America portray a man feeling liberated from the chains of the past - Europe - and presented, alone, with the ability to decide their own destiny. Isolated from the world, a man could truly make his own way. The differences between these generations and the current one is very significant, but most relevant here is that men have ceded his technical skills to corporations and government, so he has no ability to provide for himself directly. Further, the family has lost its productive and reproductive functions, so even parents are not able to parent without the advice of "experts."
This is the psychological dimension of narcissism, stray thoughts of omnipotence aside, that the narcissist depends on others to validate their narcissism - an admiring audience is always needed. The destruction of the family and the atomization of the individual doesn't free the narcissist but increases his insecurity as he must either find ways to self-aggrandize and gain audiences or attach himself to greater narcissists who display the power, fame or grandiosity he dreams of.
The early American was repressed in many ways to ward off their savage, anti-social tendencies (obsessive-compulsive personality disorder). However, this repression lead to industrialization and settling of the entire continent. This was a fragile and doomed approach.
The modern America is consumed by annihilating boredom. This is result from erecting defenses against feelings and desire. This boredom results in a deep and abiding rage that requires defenses to ward against that. The dense and bureaucratic has little ability to find outlets for that rage or those desires so they stay bottled up as well as a person can handle.
![[Image: 4865.jpg]](http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1344663932l/4865.jpg)
This delicate arrangement, coupled with increasing levels of bureaucratic red-tape create a situation in which competency is far outweighed by the need for social skills to navigate the waters. As such, it greatly weakens the patriarchal order of fathers, preachers and teachers as their power is greatly drained away in this order. That is precisely the family collapsed when it did along with the church - not because of feminism or atheism but because of the castrating social forces.
The devolution of this former "imperial self" is the transformation from egomaniacal, experience-hungry person to a person who is just grandiose, infantile and utterly hollow. The former person is a person who can act out their egos, the latter is a person who cannot.
The modern person, ridden with depression, discontentment and emptiness, seeks not transcendence or change, but peace of mind in a society that is increasingly militates against it. Individualism and religiosity of the past has devolved into sheer therapy aimed at shoring up the sense of self, instead of creating a stable sense of self. Since society has no future, therapy is purely aimed at immediate needs. It doesn't occur to therapists that love is more than fulfillment of immediate emotional needs, but about subordinating needs and wants to others and to causes or social traditions outside themselves.
Since submission or love that extends beyond the self is intolerably oppressive and offensive and injurious to the fragile egos of the modern generation, the modern therapeutic is aimed at liberating people from social and traditional constraints and then focusing on gratifying every personal desire or impulse.
BRIEF ANALYSIS
Admittedly, this is the first paragraph that introduces or implies many concepts or points Lasch eventually fleshes out in later chapters. However, there is still quite a bit to take away from here.
First, is the relationship between obsessive disorders and narcissism. While both have roots in America's original psychological profile, understand that in order to deal with their anti-social impulses, often ported out as rage, was suppressed by religion and patriarchy, that lead to a collective sense of OCPD. The approaches to alcohol, sex and violence were all results of this disorder.
Freud's research on psychology found many people with hand-washing compulsions, men and women with sex-based obsessions. Of course, the cracks were beginning to show in America's psychology. Urbanization, men leaving the home for work and the emerging power of corporations and governments threatened and toppled this order.
The shining example Lasch utilizes is the 60's. Some commentators have pretended the 60's were about free love, acceptance and all that jazz. It wasn't. Nothing changed in the 60's but the clear change from OCPD & levels of narcissism to a far more pure form of narcissism.
The isolation of the individual coupled with a steady feed of media-approved messages and soul-crushing work has lead to a deadened life for Americans.
For example, the cries about "sending women back to the kitchen" isn't fears about misogyny, wife-beating or limiting women's autonomy (as women's autonomy has already been eliminated) but about the fear of change. Women have a very precarious sense of self that is ready to crack at the slightest provocation. Suggesting women might be happier in relationships and having children is a supreme violation of their sense of self. Finally, all that bottled up rage has a socially-approved outlet and the hatred and anger is beyond overwhelming. Since they place great therapeutic on working, suggesting that women might not be happiest doing that is offensive.
