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A review by antigonus
Age of Anger: A History of the Present by Pankaj Mishra
4.0
Age of Anger is a complicated book to summarize — it is also a tough one to read. I spent a lot of time trying to pigeonhole the narrative into traditional frameworks like Left vs Right, Democracy vs Authoritarianism, and Fascism vs Socialism. Upon reflection, this was the wrong way to go about things.
Instead, Age of Anger creates an entirely new framework of understanding our current socio-political moment; one which does not easily adhere to the familiar narrative of mass shooters being inspired by extremist ideologies or interpretations of religious scripture, one which does not prescribe the recent rise of demagogues to racism or economic dissatisfaction alone.
The framework put forward here examines a particular period in time and location, 18th and 19th century Europe, to show how the socio-economic conditions experienced by an individual then are very similar to what we are experiencing right now. Although the two scenarios aren’t an exact match, the author brings forth the similarities in a convincing fashion, all the while taking us through opinions put forth by the greatest thinkers of that age. As a consequence of globalization, the paths through which Asian revolutionaries ‘borrowed’ ideas from their European brethren are also traced to better understand the current political situation in India.
The conclusion provided by Age of Anger is not simple or direct or easy to digest. This makes my recommendation all the more easier: be ready to read this book more than once.
Instead, Age of Anger creates an entirely new framework of understanding our current socio-political moment; one which does not easily adhere to the familiar narrative of mass shooters being inspired by extremist ideologies or interpretations of religious scripture, one which does not prescribe the recent rise of demagogues to racism or economic dissatisfaction alone.
The framework put forward here examines a particular period in time and location, 18th and 19th century Europe, to show how the socio-economic conditions experienced by an individual then are very similar to what we are experiencing right now. Although the two scenarios aren’t an exact match, the author brings forth the similarities in a convincing fashion, all the while taking us through opinions put forth by the greatest thinkers of that age. As a consequence of globalization, the paths through which Asian revolutionaries ‘borrowed’ ideas from their European brethren are also traced to better understand the current political situation in India.
The conclusion provided by Age of Anger is not simple or direct or easy to digest. This makes my recommendation all the more easier: be ready to read this book more than once.