Scan barcode
michalhaman's review
3.0
Obšírny prehľad politického zmýšlania, ktoré pozorujeme posledné roky veľmi výrazne. Mishrova kniha pripomenula, že to odpor voči liberálne demokracii a otvorenej ekonomike nie je nič nové, ale ide o stále sa vracajúci fenomén. Môže to byť pomerne náročné čítanie pre niekoho, kto si nejde politickú filozofiu.
ianl1963's review
2.0
Poor presentation, sweeping statements and jumping to conclusions. There maybe much that is good and in fact correct, but feels too much like opinion based on hearsay evidence, with no scientific rigour to back up conclusions. Thought provoking though. To hell in a handbasket could have made for a pithier program and allowed a slot(s) for more comedy to get you through the day.
laurapk's review
2.0
Very interesting book, but difficult to follow because of the author's decision to include only the most Exquisite less likely to be used by a common person words. I would have given it three stars if it hadn't been so overly pompous. Had I not being fluent in four languages, and had I not lived in Eastern Europe with a lot of connections to Turkey and Russia I may not have been able to follow this book. The author posits that most of the malcontent (or as he puts it "resentiment", because why use a common English word when you can be pompous for no reason) observed in the 19th and 20th and 21st century is kinked to the intellectual elite becoming inaccessible to the common person. So what does he do? He uses the most inaccessible language for a common person. Sadly, the book had a lot of good ideas. I'm not sure how many people will be impressed by it.
sternenstaub's review
4.0
An interesting look at the history of societal anger since the age of Enlightenment. Tracks the ideas of Voltaire and Rousseau and how they have influenced important thinkers throughout the world through to the present, touching on the French Revolution, the anarchic and socialist uprisings of the 1800s, and the modern nationalist movements across Europe, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.
Definitely some academic language, but nothing too out of reach or dry for the average reader. I found it to be an intriguing and often disquieting read. Obviously very relevant to current global political and psychological trends.
Definitely some academic language, but nothing too out of reach or dry for the average reader. I found it to be an intriguing and often disquieting read. Obviously very relevant to current global political and psychological trends.
amn028's review
3.0
The book spends a lot of time delving into historical moments where tribalism, race, ethnicity, etc lead to violence. It also discusses the neverending fight between the upper class and those outside this circle. Not a lot of time is spent on more current day events.
Essentially the argument being made is that we have always been at war with each other, and the future looks just as bleak. A good example is the current rise in anti-immigration sentiment, which override empathy for those fleeing unlivable situations.
The book highlights some interesting moments in human history, but I got bored occasionally as it got trapped in too much detail.
Essentially the argument being made is that we have always been at war with each other, and the future looks just as bleak. A good example is the current rise in anti-immigration sentiment, which override empathy for those fleeing unlivable situations.
The book highlights some interesting moments in human history, but I got bored occasionally as it got trapped in too much detail.
leemac027's review
3.0
I found it difficult to get into this book. Pankaj Mishra's focus is the amount of anger and outrage that is in current society and he links it to western modernity. I see the link and how, with the ever-increasing gaps between rich and poor that many people are feeling left behind, they have no voice and this can lead to anger, uprisings, outrage etc.
What I find though is that Mishra has an absolute view on how this age of anger is rolling out and who is to blame. I think it is more complex than that. Mishra seems to have a lot of anger in his own writing and wants to blame liberal democracy for all today's evils. Some good has come out of progressive development e.g. the increase in life expectancy and better living conditions (but of course not for all), science, medicine. I am not sure we can point the finger at one element as to why anger is so prevalent today.
It is an interesting book that will provoke discussion and certainly reactions from the readers. Worth exploring.
What I find though is that Mishra has an absolute view on how this age of anger is rolling out and who is to blame. I think it is more complex than that. Mishra seems to have a lot of anger in his own writing and wants to blame liberal democracy for all today's evils. Some good has come out of progressive development e.g. the increase in life expectancy and better living conditions (but of course not for all), science, medicine. I am not sure we can point the finger at one element as to why anger is so prevalent today.
It is an interesting book that will provoke discussion and certainly reactions from the readers. Worth exploring.
latviadugan's review against another edition
3.0
Pankaj Mishra has something very important to say, and I hope that someone figures out how to say it. Reading “Age of Anger” felt like reading footnotes. This is my attempt to make some sense of it.
Mishra describes our current historical moment as one of seething frustration at the failures of modernity to make good on its promises. Promises of progress, security, economic growth, and personal advancement, along with the breakdown of family, community, religion, and the state’s welfare cushions, have left people exposed to accelerated competition and an uneven playing field. As a result, everyone is at war (14). People feel as if the system is rigged against them, and they’re looking for scapegoats. It’s these angry people who are bringing to power the political despots who offer simplistic explanations and solutions, but backed by promises to crush the "enemies within" and restore a mythological past.
Simultaneously, globalization has turned us all into neighbors. What happens anywhere can be felt everywhere, and the news media has discovered it’s profitable make us feel afraid of and angry at one another. The globalization of fear, the globalization of desire (we all want the same things), resentment, and a shift from the religious to the secular; economic growth as the marker of progress, the purpose of politics, and the gateway to happiness; and a culture of self-seeking individuals “herded” into “grossly unequal distributions of wealth and power” create “humiliating new hierarchies (13).” The result is that “we have succumbed to the fantasies of consumerism without being able to fulfill them (75).”
This environment of resentment, envy, frustration, and scapegoating is fueled by the shift to a secular society that believes a better society can be engineered by those who know how, and that the metrics for progress are economic growth. While the liberal elites' means of progress are now doubted by growing tribes of discontented and disenfranchised individuals, expressing itself in fundamentalism from white supremacy to ISIS to BLM (which at the time of writing was not yet a movement), the goals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness remain unquestioned.
The three primary threads that Mishra weaves with are modernity – how it has shaped our expectations and failed to deliver; secularism, which has convinced us to find our happiness by fulfilling material and economic desires; and individualism – my rights take precedence over my moral obligations to others. This has created a world of resentment and selfishness that can only lead to chaos.
“Future historians may well see [this] uncoordinated mayhem as commencing the third – and the longest and strangest – of all world wars: one that approximates, in its ubiquity, a global civil war (5).”
Mishra tries to provide some hopeful direction in his epilogue, though it feels like grasping at straws. It basically came across to me as simply saying, “We just need to change.”
There are important things to understand here. Unfortunately, Mishra’s message gets lost in endless philosophical quotes that aren’t easy to connect.
Mishra describes our current historical moment as one of seething frustration at the failures of modernity to make good on its promises. Promises of progress, security, economic growth, and personal advancement, along with the breakdown of family, community, religion, and the state’s welfare cushions, have left people exposed to accelerated competition and an uneven playing field. As a result, everyone is at war (14). People feel as if the system is rigged against them, and they’re looking for scapegoats. It’s these angry people who are bringing to power the political despots who offer simplistic explanations and solutions, but backed by promises to crush the "enemies within" and restore a mythological past.
Simultaneously, globalization has turned us all into neighbors. What happens anywhere can be felt everywhere, and the news media has discovered it’s profitable make us feel afraid of and angry at one another. The globalization of fear, the globalization of desire (we all want the same things), resentment, and a shift from the religious to the secular; economic growth as the marker of progress, the purpose of politics, and the gateway to happiness; and a culture of self-seeking individuals “herded” into “grossly unequal distributions of wealth and power” create “humiliating new hierarchies (13).” The result is that “we have succumbed to the fantasies of consumerism without being able to fulfill them (75).”
This environment of resentment, envy, frustration, and scapegoating is fueled by the shift to a secular society that believes a better society can be engineered by those who know how, and that the metrics for progress are economic growth. While the liberal elites' means of progress are now doubted by growing tribes of discontented and disenfranchised individuals, expressing itself in fundamentalism from white supremacy to ISIS to BLM (which at the time of writing was not yet a movement), the goals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness remain unquestioned.
The three primary threads that Mishra weaves with are modernity – how it has shaped our expectations and failed to deliver; secularism, which has convinced us to find our happiness by fulfilling material and economic desires; and individualism – my rights take precedence over my moral obligations to others. This has created a world of resentment and selfishness that can only lead to chaos.
“Future historians may well see [this] uncoordinated mayhem as commencing the third – and the longest and strangest – of all world wars: one that approximates, in its ubiquity, a global civil war (5).”
Mishra tries to provide some hopeful direction in his epilogue, though it feels like grasping at straws. It basically came across to me as simply saying, “We just need to change.”
There are important things to understand here. Unfortunately, Mishra’s message gets lost in endless philosophical quotes that aren’t easy to connect.