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A review by ruth_joy
The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution by Carl R. Trueman
Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.
It's just awful, there was something I thought was wrong on almost every page. I don't mean I disagreed, I mean I think he frequently misattributed things (eg contrasting his and his grandfather's approach to their work and saying it's because culture is more individualistic now - no, you're middle class and your grandfather was working class). I think he misunderstood modern culture. I think he was so steeped in philosophy that he missed lots of other things - technology, economics, politics, history, medicine... Those things have all had a massive impact on individualism. He mentioned several times that people don't really think through things very carefully and implied that we all just blindly follow the thinking of whatever philosopher, whose views trickle through to society. As though that's solely what shapes society, not capitalism or the media or the COVID pandemic.
He talks about a time when people valued community like there's some golden age when humanity got it right (when??) and people just aren't willing to compromise now. I'm guessing he's an older white man who's just a bit bitter he's not it anymore. He's missing a time when everyone knew their place and unhappy people were not people like him, just women, children, racial minorities, LGBTQ+ people.... They knew to keep quiet and prioritise the community, by not complaining or rocking the boat in any way.
He said in the introduction he didn't want to dismantle a straw man but he went on to do a LOT of that. Mate. Does he think Caitlyn Jenner invented being trans? Did he read at all about gender diversity in other cultures? Other cultures that are far less individualistic than ours?? It's not worth me reading to find out. I've skim read the conclusions from future chapters and it doesn't look like it.
I couldn't keep reading it, it felt like such a waste of my time. I got nearly two chapters in and read nothing of value. This book is for people who agree with his conclusions already and won't notice that his arguments don't actually lead them there.
If you want to understand the rise of individualism read Naomi Klein's Doppelganger instead.
He talks about a time when people valued community like there's some golden age when humanity got it right (when??) and people just aren't willing to compromise now. I'm guessing he's an older white man who's just a bit bitter he's not it anymore. He's missing a time when everyone knew their place and unhappy people were not people like him, just women, children, racial minorities, LGBTQ+ people.... They knew to keep quiet and prioritise the community, by not complaining or rocking the boat in any way.
He said in the introduction he didn't want to dismantle a straw man but he went on to do a LOT of that. Mate. Does he think Caitlyn Jenner invented being trans? Did he read at all about gender diversity in other cultures? Other cultures that are far less individualistic than ours?? It's not worth me reading to find out. I've skim read the conclusions from future chapters and it doesn't look like it.
I couldn't keep reading it, it felt like such a waste of my time. I got nearly two chapters in and read nothing of value. This book is for people who agree with his conclusions already and won't notice that his arguments don't actually lead them there.
If you want to understand the rise of individualism read Naomi Klein's Doppelganger instead.