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Ill Fares The Land: A Treatise On Our Present Discontents
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Product Description
Review
Sinewy analysis and supple prose, as clear and refreshing as a mountain stream (Christopher Silvester Telegraph )
One of the most remarkable books on politics to have appeared for a very long time (John Gray Literary Review )
Elegant, courageous and deeply humane (Dominic Sandbrook Sunday Times )
One of the most remarkable books on politics to have appeared for a very long time (John Gray Literary Review )
Elegant, courageous and deeply humane (Dominic Sandbrook Sunday Times )
Product Description
'Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
Where wealth accumulates, and men decay' - Oliver Goldsmith
Something is profoundly wrong with the way we live today. For thirty years we have made a virtue out of the pursuit of material self-interest: indeed, this very pursuit now constitutes whatever remains of our sense of shared purpose. But we have forgotten how to think about the life we live together: its goals and purposes. We are now not only post-ideological; we have become post-ethical. We have lost touch with the old questions that have defined politics since the Greeks: is it good? Is it fair? Is it just? Is it right? Will it help bring about a better society? A better world? The social contract that defined postwar life in Europe and America - the guarantee of security, stability and fairness - is no longer assured; in fact, it's no longer part of collective conversation.
In this exceptional short book, Tony Judt reveals how we have arrived at our present dangerously confused moment and masterfully crystallizes our great unease, showing how we might yet think ourselves out of it. If we are to replace fear with confidence then we need a different story to tell, about state and society alike: a story that carries moral and political conviction. Providing that story is the purpose of this book.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Tony Judt was clearly a very learned man, with an astonishing range of knowledge and a profound insight in the social and political history of the Western world. How he analyzes 'The Way We Live Now' in chapter one, and 'The World We have Lost' in chapter two demonstrates an astonishing intellect, and what he says about the fall of 'the Left' in chapters 3 and 4 rings very true. Equally so, the suggestions he makes in 'What Is To Be Done?' in chapter 5 seems to me sound advice well worth listening to. The bitterest pill to swallow is perhaps the near certainty that those in power will not read this book, nor - if they do - take its lessons to heart.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What a brillant book about politics, the meaning and conditions of democracy and simply, what means now to have "left wing"opinions ! Tony Judt has found simple words to translate my vision of what should be a state in a world almost invaded with neo-liberal concepts. Yes, an efficient state is still possible, there are basic solutions. No, privatization is not an efficient solution to pay the depts, and yes, we can rethink the state to be more fair, bring more equality amongst us and sense and security through a "social democracy" system. Judt also reminds us that past experiences matter and that we can keep some great ideas from the 20th century history.
The content of this essay is not a revolutionary one. Judt just helps us to remember what matters in a state.
I like very much his last quotation from Leo Tolstoi : "There are no conditions of life in which a man cannot get accustomed, especially if he sees them accepted by everyone around him".
If Neo-liberalism continues on its way in the future, it is really urgent to remind the young generation that there are other solutions and political philosophies for a democracy and that "Social democracy" is still a very valid system.
I'm just sad not to have been able to meet this great man before he died (in 2010).
The content of this essay is not a revolutionary one. Judt just helps us to remember what matters in a state.
I like very much his last quotation from Leo Tolstoi : "There are no conditions of life in which a man cannot get accustomed, especially if he sees them accepted by everyone around him".
If Neo-liberalism continues on its way in the future, it is really urgent to remind the young generation that there are other solutions and political philosophies for a democracy and that "Social democracy" is still a very valid system.
I'm just sad not to have been able to meet this great man before he died (in 2010).
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
When I started to read this book the riots in London, Birmingham and Manchester had just kicked off. They only lasted a few days but brought with them fear, anger and alienation to be followed speedily by blame and retribution and much confusion and soul searching. Something was clearly amiss.....
Tony Judt's book is a little gem. He challenges the legacy of Reagan and Thatcher and their ideas on free market capitalism. Material self-interest dominated for thirty years but has led to a more unequal and less happy society. The trickle down effect has simply not trickled down enough.
For such a complex subject this book is brief and concise in its statements and arguments. This is both a plus and a minus. It is not a difficult read (though I needed the dictionary for "fungible"!) but I sometimes wanted to delve further into his arguments and tease out some of his ideas.
His ideas are based on the social democratic model - and he is willing to challenge many of the current political ideas. He is particularly interesting on what should be run by the state and what can be safely left to private individual. "Why are we so sure that some planning, or progressive taxation, or the collective ownership of public goods, are intolerable restrictions on liberty; whereas closed-circuit television cameras, state bailouts for investment banks `too big to fail', tapped telephones and expensive foreign wars are acceptable burdens for a free people to bear?"
By the time I finished reading Ill Fares the Land the Occupy Movement had started in New York and quickly spread round the world. These activists do not have all the answers but in highlighting the differences between the 1% and the 99% they are asking plenty of challenging questions. Tony Judt would have approved.
Tony Judt's book is a little gem. He challenges the legacy of Reagan and Thatcher and their ideas on free market capitalism. Material self-interest dominated for thirty years but has led to a more unequal and less happy society. The trickle down effect has simply not trickled down enough.
For such a complex subject this book is brief and concise in its statements and arguments. This is both a plus and a minus. It is not a difficult read (though I needed the dictionary for "fungible"!) but I sometimes wanted to delve further into his arguments and tease out some of his ideas.
His ideas are based on the social democratic model - and he is willing to challenge many of the current political ideas. He is particularly interesting on what should be run by the state and what can be safely left to private individual. "Why are we so sure that some planning, or progressive taxation, or the collective ownership of public goods, are intolerable restrictions on liberty; whereas closed-circuit television cameras, state bailouts for investment banks `too big to fail', tapped telephones and expensive foreign wars are acceptable burdens for a free people to bear?"
By the time I finished reading Ill Fares the Land the Occupy Movement had started in New York and quickly spread round the world. These activists do not have all the answers but in highlighting the differences between the 1% and the 99% they are asking plenty of challenging questions. Tony Judt would have approved.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Rethink the apolitical stance
Tony Judt identifies the main discontents of our modern life and connects them with our leaders' belief
that neolibersim and individualism provide a framework for constant... Read more
that neolibersim and individualism provide a framework for constant... Read more
Published 9 days ago by Georgios Karyotis
A Call to Arms for the State...
Most of this book is a distillation of the broad critique of the post-banking crisis shared by most cultural critics. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Dr. G. SPORTON
This is it !!!
While reading this book, I could not keep from muttering "this is it , this is it" Judt managed to put in simple words such important things. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Peibolskan
it's genius, innit?
I haven't finshed the book yet but massively enjoying it. One reviewer noted "What is most striking about what Judt says is not so much the substance but the form: he speaks of... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Brian Sayers
Serious must!
This is a serious must for anyone wanting to understand the basis for the industrialized world's present predicament as far as politics and finances are concerned, in fact, the... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Anne Bourla
Democracy: the highest possible aim?
Erudite, well thought critical review of democracy as practiced in a countries that pride themselves that their particular variety of democracy is exportable, even fit for forceful... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Dirk van Leeuwen
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