A review by unionmack
Age of Anger: A History of the Present by Pankaj Mishra

5.0

I was extremely impressed by this one. It flits between cultures and eras seamlessly, sourcing perfect quotes from the most influential minds in history, all to build a thorough picture as to why we've found ourselves in the global predicament we're in now. There's an element to which Mishra's project proves the cyclical nature of history. From the Enlightenment till now, the things that foment social tumult and popular unrest haven't changed that much and neither have the things people do to respond to them. What's different about now is that it seems we've reached a place beyond hope, beyond meaningful corrective narratives, and beyond much else besides retreats into naked nativism and cruel self-interest—and it's happening everywhere on the planet at once (in Mishra's view, largely because of how far neoliberal capitalism has spread its tendrils). His analysis was shrewd, eloquent, and bleak. By the time it's over, it's easy to see why Mishra doesn't really propose any sort of way out or solution to our current situation: there doesn't seem to be one.