Roses & Thorns

Roses & Thorns

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Ill Fares The Land by Tony Judt


Blurb:

Something is profoundly wrong with the way we think about how we should live today.

In Ill Fares The Land, Tony Judt, one of our leading historians and thinkers, reveals how we have arrived at our present dangerously confused moment. Judt masterfully crystallizes what we've all been feeling into a way to think our way into, and thus out of, our great collective dis-ease about the current state of things.

As the economic collapse of 2008 made clear, the social contract that defined postwar life in Europe and America—the guarantee of a basal level of security, stability and fairness—is no longer guaranteed; in fact, it's no longer part of the common discourse. Judt offers the language we need to address our common needs, rejecting the nihilistic individualism of the far right and the debunked socialism of the past. To find a way forward, we must look to our not so distant past and to social democracy in action: to re-enshrining fairness over mere efficiency.

Distinctly absent from our national dialogue, social democrats believe that the state can play an enhanced role in our lives without threatening our liberties. Instead of placing blind faith in the market-as we have to our detriment for the past thirty years-social democrats entrust their fellow citizens and the state itself.

Ill Fares the Land challenges us to confront our societal ills and to shoulder responsibility for the world we live in. For hope remains. In reintroducing alternatives to the status quo, Judt reinvigorates our political conversation, providing the tools necessary to imagine a new form of governance, a new way of life.

Review:

This author, Tony Judt, expounds his personal theories in a treatise on what’s economically and politically wrong in America and Britain and how to right it in his book, Ill Fares the Land.

I did not find his subject matter to be particularly interesting in the way he presented it, although his theories are somewhat thought-provoking if one assumes that he is correct in his assertions. One difficulty I had with his book was the lack of credible argument to support his thesis. Another issue was the lack of reference citations at times when he stated facts and figures. I tried to research his qualifications for writing about this particular topic and found his background to be extensive in history, but it was not clear to me that he has delved to any degree in the area of economics and/or politics. He fails to include other important and relevant aspects of society in what he presents, and he borders on fear-mongering at times.

I also found myself distracted by minor details that were disruptive to reading and led me away from the original point he was trying to make. For example, this statement has a certain amount of ambiguity for me: “But if we think we know what is wrong, we must act upon the knowledge.” I believe anyone can understand his intended meaning with this statement, but any careful reader is likely to automatically discern a vast difference in “we think we know” and actual “knowledge.” Indeed, if we think we know what’s wrong, the first step would be to garner solid knowledge that would confirm and support our thinking. Then we would be in a position to act upon the knowledge. In any case, although I could accept some of his premises, Judt was not able to pique my interest keenly enough and state his case convincingly enough to win me over with his diatribe. I believe his overall treatise needed more substance, so I cannot recommend this book as a good read.

Length: 256 Pages
Prices:
Print: $15.00
Digital: $12.99
Buy Link:

You’ll notice we always include the publisher’s buy link. That’s because authors usually receive 40% of the book price from the publisher. Editors and cover artists usually receive about 5%. When you buy a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or another third-party vendor, they take a hefty cut and the author, editors and cover artists receive their cuts from what is left. So, if a book costs $5.99 at E-Book Publisher.com and you buy from there, the author will receive about $2.40. If you buy the book at Amazon, the author will receive about $0.83.

Downloading the file from your computer to your e-reader is as easy as transferring any file from your computer to a USB flash drive. Plug the USB end of your chord into a USB port on your computer and simply move the file from your “Downloads” box to your E-Reader/Documents/Books directory. You can first download your books using “Save As” to a “Books” file you create on your computer and then transfer them to your e-reader from there. That way, if there’s a glitch with your e-reader, the books are on your computer. Your author will be happy you bought directly from the publisher when he/she sees his/her royalty statement.

Thanks for visiting. Rose & Rochelle

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