Why are some areas of culture being dumbed down while others seem increasingly pretentious and incomprehensible? Fabian Tassano suggests we are moving towards a model of society he calls ‘mediocracy’, in which content is abandoned in favour of appearance, and quality in favour of ideology. A ‘mediocracy’ generates a bogus high culture in which technicians produce material comprehensible only to other technicians. It champions a mass culture that is crude and sadistic. It pontificates about compassion while treating aggression and humiliation as entertainment. In a mediocracy, sweeping state powers and oppression of the individual are masked by a fake ‘individualism’. Tassano explains how concepts, theories and even the meanings of words are changed to suit an ideology that seeks to subordinate the individual to egalitarian and collectivist goals. He dissects numerous areas of mediocratic culture, exposing its deceptions and hidden motivations. With entries ranging from ‘ability’ to ‘welfare’, through ‘academia’, ‘cookery’, ‘genius’, ‘meritocracy’, ‘philosophy’ and ‘stupid’, Tassano’s book is an irreverent dictionary for a dishonest age.
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'Mediocracy' will not be popular with cultural bureaucrats. Tassano’s entries are well written, to the point and often amusing. -- Professor Anthony O’Hear, University of Buckingham
Amusing and acute, and a marvellous counterblast against the psychobabble that emanates from the pseudo-intellectuals who infest British academia. -- Frederick Forsyth
Tassano expertly skewers politically correct pomposity and looks beyond the bland surface to the rough reality beneath. -- Dr. Madsen Pirie, President, Adam Smith Institute
Tassano’s book is a remarkable indictment of our failure to protect standards. Upsetting to read, and undoubtedly right. -- Alexander Deane, author of ‘The Great Abdication’
Amusing and acute, and a marvellous counterblast against the psychobabble that emanates from the pseudo-intellectuals who infest British academia. -- Frederick Forsyth
Tassano expertly skewers politically correct pomposity and looks beyond the bland surface to the rough reality beneath. -- Dr. Madsen Pirie, President, Adam Smith Institute
Tassano’s book is a remarkable indictment of our failure to protect standards. Upsetting to read, and undoubtedly right. -- Alexander Deane, author of ‘The Great Abdication’
From the Inside Flap
Subversion as counter-culture is inspiring,
'subversion' as dogma is obnoxious.
'subversion' as dogma is obnoxious.
Why does it seem that some areas of culture are dumbing down while others are increasingly incomprehensible? Fabian Tassano argues that both things are symptoms of 'mediocracy', a new model of society in which content is sacrificed in favour of appearance and ideological correctness.
A mediocratic society
- generates a bogus high culture in which trained technicians produce material comprehensible only to other technicians;
- pontificates about compassion, while promoting a popular culture that treats pain and humiliation as entertainment;
- appears to espouse individual choice, but is characterised by creeping authoritarianism.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Ranger2006
This is an unusual book. The format is light, jokey even. But the content is serious. Each page starts with a correct and incorrect definition, one being the traditional or commonsense meaning of a term, and the other the modern, `mediocratic' meaning. The latter are illustrated with egregious quotes from fashionable modern intellectuals and media people. Some of these I found quite shocking; who would have thought, for example, that an American academic - Professor Ward Churchill of the University of Colorado - could say that "a majority of those killed in the 9/11 attack might be more accurately viewed as `little Eichmanns'[...] than as `innocents'".
The cumulative effect of all these quotations is rather weird; I found myself seeing (or rather hearing) mediocracy all over the place, particularly when listening to BBC radio 4.
One of the contributions of the book is to suggest an explanation for the paradox that modern mediocratic culture is demotic and anti-elitist at one moment, and mind-numbingly obscurantist at others. Tassano suggests that fields like economics, of which he evidently has personal experience, adopt impenetrable jargon in order to keep out the sort of enquiring minds that might question the mediocratic status quo.
Tassano seems to have been inspired by the radical scepticism of the British philosopher and thinker Celia Green, whose influence he acknowledges at the end of the book. His book is in a sense a development of Green's thesis that society is fundamentally motivated by a hatred of the exceptional individual.
Altogether an uncomfortable and disturbing book, for all its surface humour.
The cumulative effect of all these quotations is rather weird; I found myself seeing (or rather hearing) mediocracy all over the place, particularly when listening to BBC radio 4.
One of the contributions of the book is to suggest an explanation for the paradox that modern mediocratic culture is demotic and anti-elitist at one moment, and mind-numbingly obscurantist at others. Tassano suggests that fields like economics, of which he evidently has personal experience, adopt impenetrable jargon in order to keep out the sort of enquiring minds that might question the mediocratic status quo.
Tassano seems to have been inspired by the radical scepticism of the British philosopher and thinker Celia Green, whose influence he acknowledges at the end of the book. His book is in a sense a development of Green's thesis that society is fundamentally motivated by a hatred of the exceptional individual.
Altogether an uncomfortable and disturbing book, for all its surface humour.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By C. Baylis
Though I have given this book an official five stars to raise its profile a little, it's more like a 4 star book. It has an unfinished feel and an unnecessary introductary fable that compresses the plot of 'Atlas Shrugged' into six pages and detracts from the overall pleasure of reading this books dissection of the ubiquitous buzzwords of egalitarianism. And what good definitions they are. As other reviewers have stated Tassano defines the old and new meaning of words such as 'Ability' in a tick box format that resembles a benefits application, before giving a short commentary on the new meaning. On the subject of ability, for instance, Tassano sums up in one sentence the absurdity of our unexamined assumption regarding ability - that 'ability' is 100% learnt. Nobody is considered to have any innate ability or inner-world of any significance (unless it's sexual fantasy obviously..). In this regard Mediocracy is completely out of step with currently fashionable thinking.
On the whole the book is very very short indeed with gentle humor and easy writing. This is a good thing. The very intelligent often write very simply and important truths are often quite simple. This isn't that latest 700 word tract of inane rhetoric from Slavoj Zizek.
Oddly, the books light tone is abruptly ended by an apocalyptic quote from '1984' ( 'In the end thought crime will be impossible' ). It's so abrupt it's almost inappropriate. But then again, Oxford Forum, the publisher of this book is lead by the controversial academic Celia Green. Her influence pervades 'Mediocracy' and most 'normal' (mediocre) academics prefer to treat her with the 'Totschweigetaktik'.
Though I feel I must add my own apocalyptic statement - Celia Green is one of the few people left with anything controversial to say.
On the whole the book is very very short indeed with gentle humor and easy writing. This is a good thing. The very intelligent often write very simply and important truths are often quite simple. This isn't that latest 700 word tract of inane rhetoric from Slavoj Zizek.
Oddly, the books light tone is abruptly ended by an apocalyptic quote from '1984' ( 'In the end thought crime will be impossible' ). It's so abrupt it's almost inappropriate. But then again, Oxford Forum, the publisher of this book is lead by the controversial academic Celia Green. Her influence pervades 'Mediocracy' and most 'normal' (mediocre) academics prefer to treat her with the 'Totschweigetaktik'.
Though I feel I must add my own apocalyptic statement - Celia Green is one of the few people left with anything controversial to say.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Lumen
Mediocracy is much more than a book, it's an alarm bell for a society on a collision course to its own destruction. After reading a handful of the short one-page definitions, each delivering its satirical sting, you begin to realise what years of dumbing down, sexing up and political correctness have done not only for cultural output but for the society it represents. It has made us ill.
What I think distinguishes this book is Tassano's global approach and his terseness of expression. The short satirical commentaries on themes such as education, art, celebrity, high culture, narrative etc. are accompanied by brilliantly chosen quotations, which deftly expose the social manipulation and paranoia of an ailing society.
The book is meticulously referenced and comes with an introductory fable which outlines the history of modern culture.
Mediocracy is a wake-up call for all producers and consumers of culture alike. I'm sure it's impact will be huge.
What I think distinguishes this book is Tassano's global approach and his terseness of expression. The short satirical commentaries on themes such as education, art, celebrity, high culture, narrative etc. are accompanied by brilliantly chosen quotations, which deftly expose the social manipulation and paranoia of an ailing society.
The book is meticulously referenced and comes with an introductory fable which outlines the history of modern culture.
Mediocracy is a wake-up call for all producers and consumers of culture alike. I'm sure it's impact will be huge.
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