Author
Christopher Lasch
Other affiliations: Brandeis University, University of Virginia
Bio: Christopher Lasch is an academic researcher from University of Rochester. The author has contributed to research in topics: Narcissism & Politics. The author has an hindex of 22, co-authored 54 publications receiving 7407 citations. Previous affiliations of Christopher Lasch include Brandeis University & University of Virginia.
Topics: Narcissism, Politics, Democracy, Political radicalism, Patriarchy
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
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TL;DR: The Culture of Narcissism Revisited as discussed by the authors was the first bestseller in the history of the book and it includes a new afterword, ''The culture of narcissism revisited''.
Abstract: The book quickly became a bestseller. This edition includes a new afterword, \"The Culture of Narcissism Revisited.\
1,857 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1979
TL;DR: The Culture of Narcissism by the intellectual historian Christopher Lasch started off with an indictment of the awareness movement for betraying the New Left counterculture from which it sprang as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The big-selling Culture of Narcissism by the intellectual historian Christopher Lasch started off with an indictment of the “awareness movement” for betraying the New Left counterculture from which it sprang. The Protestant work ethic stood as one of the most important underpinnings of American culture. The spirit of self-improvement lived on, in debased form, in the cult of “self-culture”—proper care and training of mind and body, nurture of the mind through “great books,” development of “character.” The Culture of Narcissism, like its predecessor, Haven in a Heartless World, has much more information about social-science theories of the family than about family life itself. In a society in which the dream of success has been drained of any meaning beyond itself, men have nothing against which to measure their achievements except the achievements of others. The fear that haunted the social critics and theorists of fifties—that rugged individualism had succumbed to conformity and “low-pressure sociability”—appears in retrospect to have been premature.
1,376 citations
Book•
26 Nov 1987
TL;DR: The Culture of Narcissism Revisited as mentioned in this paper was a bestsellers in the 1970s. This edition includes a new afterword, "The Culture Of Narcissisms Revisited."
Abstract: The book quickly became a bestseller. This edition includes a new afterword, "The Culture of Narcissism Revisited."
680 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of democracy as discussed by the authors is a classic book about the American political elite and its abandonment of the middle class and the poor.
Abstract: In a front-page review in the Washington Post Book World, John Judis wrote: "Political analysts have been poring over exit polls and precinct-level votes to gauge the meaning of last November's election, but they would probably better employ their time reading the late Christopher Lasch's book." And in the National Review, Robert Bork says The Revolt of the Elites "ranges provocatively [and] insightfully." Controversy has raged around Lasch's targeted attack on the elites, their loss of moral values, and their abandonment of the middle class and poor, for he sets up the media and educational institutions as a large source of the problem. In this spirited work, Lasch calls out for a return to community, schools that teach history not self-esteem, and a return to morality and even the teachings of religion. He does this in a nonpartisan manner, looking to the lessons of American history, and castigating those in power for the ever-widening gap between the economic classes, which has created a crisis in American society. The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy is riveting social commentary.
485 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1991TL;DR: The authors traced the opposition to the idea of progress from Rousseau through Montesquieu to Carlyle, Max Weber and G.D. Cole, finding much that is desirable in a turn toward moral conservatism, toward a lower-middle-class culture that features egalitarianism, workmanship and loyalty, and recognizes the danger of resentment of the material goods of others.
Abstract: Can we continue to believe in progress? In this sobering analysis of the Western human condition, Christopher Lasch seeks the answer in a history of the struggle between two ideas: one is the idea of progress - an idea driven by the conviction that human desire is insatiable and requires ever larger production forces. Opposing this materialist view is the idea that condemns a boundless appetite for more and better goods and distrusts "improvements" that only feed desire. Tracing the opposition to the idea of progress from Rousseau through Montesquieu to Carlyle, Max Weber and G.D.H. Cole, Lasch finds much that is desirable in a turn toward moral conservatism, toward a lower-middle-class culture that features egalitarianism, workmanship and loyalty, and recognizes the danger of resentment of the material goods of others.
453 citations
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01 Jan 1981
TL;DR: In this article, an apex seal for a rotary combustion engine is disclosed having a hollow, thin wall, tubular, metal core member embedded in an extruded composite metal-carbon matrix, adapted to slideably engage the slot of the rotor in which it rides and sealingly engage the rotor housing against which it is spring and gas pressure biased.
Abstract: In a preferred embodiment an apex seal for a rotary combustion engine is disclosed having a hollow, thin wall, tubular, metal core member embedded in an extruded composite metal-carbon matrix. The seal is adapted to slidably engage the slot of the rotor in which it rides, and to sealingly engage the rotor housing against which it is spring and gas pressure biased. The incorporation of the hollow tubular core in the extruded seal permits a reduction in weight with no significant loss in flexural strength or wear resistance. It also provides gas pressure balance, end to end.
8,684 citations
TL;DR: This article found that people can use varying degrees of their selves, physically, cognitively, and emotionally, in work role performances, which has implications for both their performance and their wellbeing.
Abstract: This study began with the premise that people can use varying degrees of their selves, physically, cognitively, and emotionally, in work role performances, which has implications for both their wor...
7,647 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that authoritative parents who are highly demanding and highly responsive were remarkably successful in protecting their adolescents from problem drug use, and in generating competence, and that authoritative upbringing, although sufficient, is not a necessary condition to produce competent children.
Abstract: An overview of the Family Socialization and Developmental Competence longitudinal program of research (FSP) is followed by a presentation of the hypotheses and findings pertaining to family patterns as determinants of adolescent competence, and of types of adolescent substance users. Data include clusters derived from comprehensive ratings of parents and their children completed independently within- and across-time periods at ages 4, 9, and 15 years. At Time 3 (T3), the sample included 139 adolescents and their parents from a predominantly affluent, well-educated, Caucasian population. Parenting types were identified that differ on the bases of commitment and balance of demandingness and responsiveness. Authoritative parents who are highly demanding and highly responsive were remarkably successful in protecting their adolescents from problem drug use, and in generating competence. Authoritative upbringing, although sufficient, is not a necessary condition to produce competent children. Casual recreationa...
3,380 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the development of a values-oriented materialism scale with three components (acquisition centrality, acquisition as the pursuit of happiness, and possession defined success) is described.
Abstract: This article reviews the construct and measurement of materialism and concludes that materialism is appropriately conceptualized as a consumer value. The development of a values-oriented materialism scale with three components—acquisition centrality, acquisition as the pursuit of happiness, and possession-defined success—is described. In validation tests high scorers (compared with low scorers) desired a higher level of income, placed greater emphasis on financial security and less on interpersonal relationships, preferred to spend more on themselves and less on others, engaged in fewer voluntary simplicity behaviors, and were less satisfied with their lives.
2,861 citations
TL;DR: The present study used meta-analytic techniques to determine the patterns of mean-level change in personality traits across the life course and showed that people increase in measures of social dominance, conscientiousness, and emotional stability in young adulthood and decrease in both of these domains in old age.
Abstract: The present study used meta-analytic techniques (number of samples = 92) to determine the patterns of mean-level change in personality traits across the life course. Results showed that people increase in measures of social dominance (a facet of extraversion), conscientiousness, and emotional stability, especially in young adulthood (age 20 to 40). In contrast, people increase on measures of social vitality (a 2nd facet of extraversion) and openness in adolescence but then decrease in both of these domains in old age. Agreeableness changed only in old age. Of the 6 trait categories, 4 demonstrated significant change in middle and old age. Gender and attrition had minimal effects on change, whereas longer studies and studies based on younger cohorts showed greater change.
2,791 citations