Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Redefining Success
Readers of "Persist: The Blog" may find this book review of interest. The Culture of Excess: How America Lost Self-Control and Why We Need to Redefine Success takes a more academic, analytical view of what we have been talking about, but many of the issues the author addresses are the same.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
From the review: "Why we must not see government as evil but rather as the solution to our problems..." Hmmm, that strikes me as though I am being asked to view government as some kind of god-like entity that can save me from myself. No thanks. Government is not evil. Government is not the solution to our problems. Government is not good. Government is not the cause of our problems. Government is who we elect it to be and therefore it is us. Yes, there are institutions and bureaucracies, and they exist because we allow them to exist by electing men and women (taken from the store of "us") who allow them to remain. Whew! Our Culture is giving us what we want just as the Roman Emperors gave the citizens of Rome what they wanted. Is it time to want something else? Does anyone reading this want something other than what we are giving ourselves? Do I want something other than what I'm giving myself? Yes. I want: Not more, but less; Not new, but different. Government is the collective enabler and always will be. What do you and what do I want government to enable? No matter how that question is answered, government will not solve our problems. Government is not a god.
Thanks for listening.
Post a Comment