1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910777828403321

Autore

Myers David G.

Titolo

The American Paradox : Spiritual Hunger in an Age of Plenty / / David G. Myers

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New Haven, CT : , : Yale University Press, , [2008]

©2008

ISBN

1-281-72233-2

9786611722333

0-300-13029-5

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (430 p.)

Disciplina

306/.0973

Soggetti

Social ethics - United States

Communitarianism - United States

United States Moral conditions

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- Foreword -- Preface -- 1. The Best of Times, the Worst of Times -- 2. The Sexual Swing -- 3. The Past and Future of Marriage -- 4. America's Children -- 5. Violence -- 6. Money and Misery -- 7. Individualism and Community -- 8. Media, Minds, and the Public Good -- 9. Educating for a Moral Compass -- 10. Faith and Society -- Epilogue -- Notes -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

For Americans entering the twenty-first century, it is the best of times and the worst of times. Material wealth is at record levels, yet disturbing social problems reflect a deep spiritual poverty. In this compelling book, well-known social psychologist David G. Myers asks how this paradox has come to be and, more important, how we can spark social renewal and dream a new American dream. Myers explores the research on social ills from the 1960's through the 1990's and concludes that the materialism and radical individualism of this period have cost us dearly, imperiling our children, corroding general civility, and diminishing our happiness. However, in the voices of public figures and ordinary citizens he now hears a spirit of optimism. The national dialogue is shifting-away from the expansion of personal rights and



toward enhancement of communal civility, away from efforts to raise self-esteem and toward attempts to arouse social responsibility, away from "whose values?" and toward "our values." Myers analyzes in detail the research on educational and other programs that deal with social problems, explaining which seem to work and why. He then offers positive and well-reasoned advice, suggesting that a renewed social ecology for America will rest on policies that balance "me thinking" with "we thinking."