The twilight of American culture - Morris Berman

The impact of US culture on Europe is indisputable. This text argues that the culture of the United States is in decline but it is up to its citizens whether the twilight heralds eternal night or the dawn of a new, more cultural, age.;Like ancient Rome in the fourth and fifth centuries, the American Empire has now seen the passage of its most triumphant years and is rapidly approaching a period of increased social chaos. So argues Morris Berman in this damning portrait of American society. Whether examining the corruption at the heart of modern politics, the "Rambification" of popular entertainment, or the collapse of the educational system, Berman's analysis makes clear that there is little Americans can do as a society to arrest the onset of corporate Mass Mind culture. Citing writers as diverse as de Toqueville and Don DeLillo, Berman argues that cultural preservation is a matter of individual conscience, a refusal to base one's life on kitsch or consumerism, profit or self-promotion.