Gregg: Good review of an interesting book. However, from what I can tell, like most treatments of this sort, it mostly deals with the *figures* and not the *ground* . . . <g> Why would our Culture want people to behave like "infants," constantly protected and, yes, "mothered" (but not "fathered," as Meghan McCain recently reminded us)? No, this is *not* something that promotes "Wisdom" (which, as the saying sometimes goes, is "wasted on the youth.") The most obvious answer is that our Culture is supported by an economy that is overwhelmingly driven by *consumers* (not producers, with "industry" now amounting to less than 12% of the GDP) and, accordingly, our lives are filled with "advertising" -- most of which is for things we truly don't need. But pushed enough, we might be convinced to "want" it. The sort of person who is the ideal consumer -- as many I know in the ad-biz have repeatedly told me -- is a 13 year-old girl (or its psychological equivalent.) The best advertising is, as put in their mad-lexicon, "seducing their delicate affections." They are the most likely to form "brand" allegiances and, as the Colin Kapernick fluff reminds us, *memes* aren't targeted at "inquiring minds." Although, it is true the Facebook memes about Third World workers making $0.23/hour in Nike factories and Nazi doctors "sacrificing everything" can be darkly humorous. Yes, under sane conditions, much award-winning advertising would be classified as child abuse. The Labor Force Participation rate (LFP) in 1970 was 90/30%, male/female, and now it's 60/60% (heading towards 30/30%) -- reflected a massive drop in men-at-work (under RADIO conditions) along with a doubling of women-at-work. This is fundamental structural change in the Culture, which therefore must have a structural (or *formal*) cause. TELEVISION -- the previous *paradigm* -- is, of course, behind all this. As a recent New Yorker (the once "literary" publication, now being "edited" on Twitter) story by Ken Auletta (their long-time "media maven") put it, the "Mad Men" have now been replaced by the "Math Men." The Russian (among many others) "interference" in the 2016 election was mostly just more advertising -- intersecting the reality that "politics" is also a thriving click-bait "consumer" business opportunity. As it turns out, the Russians are very good at math. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www-2Dnewyorker-2Dcom.cdn.ampproject.org_c_s_www.newyorker.com_news_annals-2Dof-2Dcommunications_how-2Dthe-2Dmath-2Dmen-2Doverthrew-2Dthe-2Dmad-2Dmen_amp&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=JFYdBt2Wf0YCKU-XcalQdM9z8fxgQ5hWdtFrVXJJtts&s=5vlXUENPpKILnfpHMVZeN3tlrQYE_BJLjvQKQxGxsSQ&e= The "mother" has long-been the symbol of the TELEVISION age -- with the "boob tube" replacing what was once the "family hearth." From "Leave it to Beaver" to "All in the Family" and "Married With Children," the steady degradation of *fathers* in our Culture has been widely documented. As I've mentioned, Jordan Peterson's affection for Jung -- perhaps not so well understood by his young male audience -- has as one of its anchors "The Great Mother." Post-modernity has been a romp by the "goddess" triumphant (endlessly "deconstructing" male-power) -- as reflected in most television commentary about politics, or whatever else, today. Yes, the Goddess, even captured the Catholic Church. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.amazon.com_Great-2DMother-2DAnalysis-2DArchetype-2DNeumann_dp_0691166072&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=JFYdBt2Wf0YCKU-XcalQdM9z8fxgQ5hWdtFrVXJJtts&s=KXCvxzsmLy_TUvHQyZ8eO_IwN0aGJ_vu5jXUSOli95o&e= "Safety," as many anthropologists have emphasized, is "women's work" in most human communities they study. Much of non-human biology (aka Ethology) would agree. "Danger," on the other hand -- frequently meaning an early death -- is for somebody else. Just ask Konrad Lorenz. Yes, along so much else, under DIGITAL conditions, this is also a part of the growing pile now labelled "everything must go" . . . !! Mark Quoting "Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx" <[log in to unmask]>: > This article reviews a book on the coddling of the American mind: > https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__quillette.com_2018_09_02_is-2Dsafetyism-2Ddestroying-2Da-2Dgeneration_&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=JFYdBt2Wf0YCKU-XcalQdM9z8fxgQ5hWdtFrVXJJtts&s=f6_XUfEngBLZzsQpkXi1rdhgF2N19QiS-w9qTOghUXg&e= > > I largely agree with the thesis of the book. I have written about > similar issues. Here is a blog I did summarizing a similar issue: > https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.psychologytoday.com_intl_blog_theory-2Dknowledge_201701_the-2Dconcept-2Dconcept-2Dcreep&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=JFYdBt2Wf0YCKU-XcalQdM9z8fxgQ5hWdtFrVXJJtts&s=ZromwJLSudQhAL-5GMU5xL8CrVoU6ZeYY__RTZAKvs4&e= > > Best, > G > > ############################ > > To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: > write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > or click the following link: > http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1 ############################ To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the following link: http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1