The Culture of Narcissism
"The Culture of Narcissism" is a critical examination of American society, particularly during the late 1970s, authored by Christopher Lasch. The book posits that the American character was shifting from an individualistic mindset, which once emphasized personal achievement and societal contribution, to a more self-absorbed and narcissistic personality. Lasch identifies key traits of this new narcissistic individual, including a heavy reliance on external validation, emotional dependence on expert advice, and an inability to confront personal or societal issues independently. He argues that this shift resulted in a pervasive sense of unease and emptiness, as individuals became increasingly disconnected from their own moral authority and reliant on bureaucratic solutions to personal problems.
The book sparked significant discussion, with some misinterpretations of its arguments leading to controversy in both popular media and academic circles. While it was praised for its insightful critique of modern American culture, some feminist critics perceived Lasch's analysis as a regression to outdated patriarchal values. Overall, "The Culture of Narcissism" presents a pessimistic view of the cultural landscape, highlighting the psychological impact of consumer capitalism and social changes on American identity.
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The Culture of Narcissism
Identification Sociohistorical critique of American culture and character
Date Published in 1979
Author Christopher Lasch
Lasch’s best-selling book was a sharp indictment of the therapeutic, “me-centered” social trends of the 1970’s.
Key Figures
Christopher Lasch (1932-1994), social critic
Many social critics sensed that the United States of the late 1970’s was undergoing a crisis of confidence in its political, cultural, and social institutions. Prompted by political scandals, economic uneasiness, and the debacle of Vietnam, the mood of the country was one of pessimism. In The Culture of Narcissism, Christopher Lasch argued that in the midst of this national uneasiness, a shift in the national character could be discerned. The individualist, a type who imposed its will on nature and who marked the nation’s glory days, was being replaced by a new personality type—the narcissist.
This emerging personality had the following characteristics: an overwhelming self-absorption, a psychological reliance on the approval of others, and a dependence on professional advice groups (which dispensed advice on everything from child-rearing to assertiveness training) and bureaucratic institutions (abetted by consumer capitalism) to solve personal and social problems. Lasch argued that the narcissist personality had relinquished its own moral authority in its uncritical tolerance of disparate values, its concern for pursuing only personal well-being, and its easy acceptance of expert opinion. The narcissist suffered unease and emptiness because the social forces of late American capitalism prevented it, as Lasch put it, from “growing up.”
Impact
Lasch’s book spawned several controversies, and he complained that his work was misunderstood. Some of the misunderstandings stem from the book’s subtle argument and some to Lasch’s appeal to Freudian psychoanalysis and Frankfurt School political models in his analysis. President Jimmy Carter so admired the book that he recommended it to his staff and even invited its author to dinner. However, even the learned president misunderstood the central claims of the book according to Lasch, although he believed it heavily influenced Carter’s famous “Crisis of Confidence” speech of 1979.
Reviewers in the popular media tended to regard it as a stimulating and wide-ranging discussion of American ills—Lasch’s discussion ranges from soap operas to the 1975 film The Happy Hooker—but still just another jeremiad against American culture. The tone of the book is undeniably pessimistic and readers would have to wait for later works in order for Lasch to outline alternatives.
In academic circles the reception of The Culture of Narcissism was mixed. Some feminist social critics took Lasch’s characterization of the narcissist as a general attack on feminine sensibilities and as a call to return to the patriarchal virtues of an earlier time. Moreover, his disparagement of the liberal ideal of continuous social progress put him at odds with former allies on the Left.
Bibliography
Siegel, Fred. “The Agony of Christoper Lasch.” Reviews in American History 8, no. 3 (September, 1980).
Wilkinson, Rupert. American Social Character. New York: HarperCollins, 1992.