The spirit of disobedience : resisting the charms of fake politics, mindless consumption, and the culture of total work

Trained relentlessly to work & consume, we make daily lifestyle decisions that promote corporate profits more than our own well-being. We also find ourselves working more, living in fragmented communities, & neglecting our most basic spiritual & political values. As Curtis White puts it, “In order to live, you will be asked to do what is no good, what is absurd, trivial, demeaning, & soul killing.” Although we belong to the world’s most affluent society, somehow we never have the chance to ask: How shall we live? With his trademark humor & acerbic wit, White raises this impertinent question. He also debunks the conventional view that liberalism can answer it without drawing on spiritual values. Surveying American popular culture (including Office Space & The Da Vinci Code) to illustrate his points, White urges us to renew our commitment to “human fundamentals” as articulated by Henry David Thoreau-especially free time, home, & food-and to reclaim Thoreau’s spirit of disobedience. Seeking imaginative answers to his central questions, White also interviews John De Graaf (Affluenza), James Howard Kunstler (The Long Emergency) & Michael Ableman (Fields of Plenty) about their views of the good life in our time.CURTIS WHITE has published seven earlier books of fiction, including Memories of My Father Watching TV. His non-fiction includes The Middle Mind, The Science Delusion, & We, Robots. His essays have appeared in Harper’s, the Village Voice, Orion, Salon, Tricycle, & Playboy. Trained relentlessly to work and consume, we make daily lifestyle decisions that promote corporate profits more than our own well-being. We also find ourselves working more, living in fragmented communities, and neglecting our most basic spiritual and political values. As Curtis White puts it, “In order to live, you will be asked to do what is no good, what is absurd, trivial, demeaning, and soul killing.” Although we belong to the world’s most affluent society, somehow we never have the chance to ask: How shall we live?

With his trademark humor and acerbic wit, White raises this impertinent question. He also debunks the conventional view that liberalism can answer it without drawing on spiritual values. Surveying American popular culture (including Office Space and The Da Vinci Code) to illustrate his points, White urges us to renew our commitment to “human fundamentals” as articulated by Henry David Thoreau-especially free time, home, and food-and to reclaim Thoreau’s spirit of disobedience.

Seeking imaginative answers to his central questions, White also interviews John De Graaf (Affluenza), James Howard Kunstler (The Long Emergency) and Michael Ableman (Fields of Plenty) about their views of the good life in our time.

Trained relentlessly to work and consume, we make daily lifestyle decisions that promote corporate profits more than our own well-being. We also find ourselves working more, living in fragmented communities, and neglecting our most basic spiritual and political values. As Curtis White puts it, “In order to live, you will be asked to do what is no good, what is absurd, trivial, demeaning, and soul killing.” Although we belong to the world’s most affluent society, somehow we never have the chance to ask: How shall we live? With his trademark humor and acerbic wit, White raises this impertinent question. He also debunks the conventional view that liberalism can answer it without drawing on spiritual values. Surveying American popular culture (including __Office Space__ and __The Da Vinci Code__) to illustrate his points, White urges us to renew our commitment to “human fundamentals” as articulated by Henry David Thoreau-especially free time, home, and food-and to reclaim Thoreau’s spirit of disobedience. Seeking imaginative answers to his central questions, White also interviews John De Graaf (__Affluenza__), James Howard Kunstler (__The Long Emergency__) and Michael Ableman (__Fields of Plenty__) about their views of the good life in our time. Front Title Copyright Dedication Contents Introduction 1 2 3 1: Imagination Dead Imagine 1 2 3 4 5 2: Beyond the Golden Rule 1 Hypocrisy Isolation Servility Conspiring in Our Own Defeat 3: Confessions of a Holy Whore 1 2 3 4 4: The Spirit of Disobedience 1 2 3 5: A New Fundamentalism: Time, Home, and Food 1 2 3 Epilogue Notes Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Bibliography Acknowledgments Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z About the Author Other Books from PoliPointPress Back Argues that the American left needs a new and compelling spiritual basis for its politics, and that its seeds can be discovered in Thoreau's spiritual politics of refusal and a return to human "fundamentals" especially work, home, and food. Along the way, White offers a reading of the cult classic Office Space, a critique of Bill Maher's political comedy, and other cultural commentary. He includes provocative interviews with James Howard Kunstler, John de Graaf, and Michael Ableman A Witty Call For A New Spiritual Foundation In The Politics Of The American Left Urges Americans To Dedicate Themselves To The Fundamentals Of Work, Housing, Transportation, And Food. By The Author Of The Middle Mind: Why Americans Don't Think For Themselves.