In American society paradoxes of material abundance coexist along with persistent levels of dissatisfaction. Various theorists, particularly Christopher Lasch, have explained why Americans continue to be restless amid increasing affluence. It is the purpose of this paper to examine the ideas of Christopher Lasch from his book, The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations, and to discuss other selections of written work regarding the quality of American life.
Lasch contends that Americans have taken the culture of competitive individualism to the extreme of conflict against all others, resulting in a sickly preoccupation with the self (1978, p. xv). The mainstream American society is no longer preoccupied with the basics of food, clothing, and shelter. The industrial age and the past agrarian way of life have given way to a current preoccupation with things of a psychological nature. According to Lasch, American people are plagued with anxiety. The social movements of the 1960s freed the Americans from puritanical mores and folkways, but the typical person tends not to experience a great deal of peace, even though he is freed from ancient taboos.
It seems that our culture harbors hidden conflicts. On the one hand, we claim to be relaxed and tolerant, free of racial bias and bigotry, but at the same time the average person holds strong feelings of competition, perhaps even a deep need to destroy. He may outwardly extol the attributes of a team spirit, but inside he desperately craves approval over all else (Lasch, 1978, p. xvi). He says that rules are beneficial, but he inwardly believes that they are for other people and he will do what he can to bypass regulations that are inconvenient or do not apply to him. Lasch believes that the prevailing passion is to live for the moment--live for oneself, not considering the effects of current decisions on posterity or historical continuity....