{"product_id":"voltaires-bastards-the-dictatorship-of-reason-in-the-west-paperback","title":"Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJohn Ralston Saul\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWith a new Introduction by the author, this \"erudite and brilliantly readable book\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Observer\u003c\/i\u003e, London) expertly dissects the political, economic, and social origins of Western civilization to reveal a culture cripplingly enslaved to crude notions of rationality and expertise.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith a new introduction by the author, this \"erudite and brilliantly readable book\" (The Observer, London) astutely dissects the political, economic and social origins of Western civilization to reveal a culture cripplingly enslaved to crude notions of rationality and expertise. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe Western world is full of paradoxes. We talk endlessly of individual freedom, yet we've never been under more pressure to conform. Our business leaders describe themselves as capitalists, yet most are corporate employees and financial speculators. We call our governments democracies, yet few of us participate in politics. We complain about invasive government, yet our legal, educational, financial, social, cultural and legislative systems are deteriorating. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAll these problems, John Ralston Saul argues, are largely the result of our blind faith in the value of reason. Over the past 400 years, our \"rational elites\" have turned the modern West into a vast, incomprehensible, directionless machine, run by process-minded experts--\"Voltaire's bastards\"--whose cult of scientific management is empty of both sense and morality. Whether in politics, art, business, the military, entertain-ment, science, finance, academia or journalism, these experts share the same outlook and methods. The result, Saul maintains, is a civilization of immense technological power whose ordinary citizens are increasingly excluded from the decision-making process. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this wide-ranging anatomy of modern society and its origins--whose \"pages explode with insight, style and intellectual rigor\" (Camille Paglia, The Washington Post)--Saul presents a shattering critique of the political, economic and cultural estab-lishments of the West.\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 656\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.8 x 8.1 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 02, 2013\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51978447552813,"sku":"9781476718965","price":23.39,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/SXBWdFpDbVVBRFp1RXdQb0hqRzRPdz09.webp?v=1775805214","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/voltaires-bastards-the-dictatorship-of-reason-in-the-west-paperback","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}