The Unconscious Civilization - Softcover

9780140264647: The Unconscious Civilization
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
In this intellectual tour de force, Saul argues that the West now toils unconsciously in the grip of a stifling "corporatist" structure that serves the needs of business managers and technocrats as it promotes the segmentation of society into competing interest groups and ethnic blocks.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:
John Ralston Saul is the International President of PEN International, an essayist, novelist, and long-time champion of freedom of expression. His works have been translated into twenty-three languages in thirty countries, are widely taught in universities, and central to the debate over contemporary society in many countries. They include the philosophical trilogy: Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West, The Doubter's Companion, The Unconscious Civilization, and its conclusion, On Equilibrium. In The Collapse of Globalism, he predicted today's economic crisis. In the autumn of 2012, he published his first novel in fifteen years, Dark Diversions: A Traveller’s Tale, a picaresque novel about the life of modern nouveaux riches.

His awards include South Korea’s Manhae Grand Prize for Literature, the Pablo Neruda Medal, Canada’s Governor General’s Literary Award for Nonfiction, the inaugural Gutenberg Galaxy Award for Literature, and Italy's Premio Letterario Internazionale. He is a Companion in the Order of Canada and a Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France. He is the recipient of seventeen honorary degrees.
From Kirkus Reviews:
Readers must look past some unorthodox conceptualizations and outrageous pronouncements to glimpse the piercing insights in this volume. Essayist and novelist Saul (The Paradise Eater, 1988, etc.) argues that in the 20th century ideologies ranging from socialism and fascism to psychotherapy and free market economics have promoted truisms that undermine the acquisition of knowledge. For example, despite evidence to the contrary, we believe that democracy requires free markets, markets convert self-interest into the common good, and technology is the key to progress. As a result, managers, interest groups, and technocrats have become our gods, and the individual citizen is smothered in a bureaucratic society. Saul finds the antidote for this situation in people who seek knowledge without the pacifier of ideological certainty, the public good without pretending it is synonymous with self-interest, and reason without emasculating it in abstract rationality. His critique leaves few residents of the 20th century unscathed, possibly provoking scholars to look down their noses and sniff about sloppy work while nonacademics reject the arguments as out of touch with the real world. This is to be expected if Saul's thesis has any validity. It is also a pity, for there is much here that should not be dismissed so easily. Identifying ``individualism'' as an ideology and contrasting it with individual citizens acting in a democracy highlights common assumptions that need to be examined. Portraying universities as willing partners in the commercialization of society, and disciplines like political science and economics as contributors to ideology rather than knowledge, raises serious issues within the undeniably troubled world of academia. Saul's almost nostalgic references to Socrates hardly provide a clear direction, but the lack of an answer should not be used to denigrate the asking of questions. It is unlikely Saul will be forced to drink hemlock, but supporters of the status quo may suggest it. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherPenguin
  • Publication date1997
  • ISBN 10 0140264647
  • ISBN 13 9780140264647
  • BindingPaperback
  • Number of pages224
  • Rating
Buy Used
Condition: Good
Used book that is in clean, average... Learn more about this copy

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.

Destination, rates & speeds

Add to Basket

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780684871080: The Unconscious Civilization

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780684871080
Publisher: Free Press, 1999
Softcover

  • 9780684832579: The Unconscious Civilization

    Free Pr, 1997
    Hardcover

  • 9780887847318: The Unconscious Civilization

    House ..., 2005
    Softcover

  • 9780887845864: The Unconscious Civilization (Cbc Massey Lectures Series)

    House ..., 1998
    Softcover

  • 9780887845765: The unconscious civilization (Massey lectures series)

    House ..., 1995
    Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Saul, John Ralston
Published by Penguin Books, Limited (1998)
ISBN 10: 0140264647 ISBN 13: 9780140264647
Used Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Better World Books: West
(Reno, NV, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: Good. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 5599428-6

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 6.28
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Saul, John Ralston
Published by Penguin (1997)
ISBN 10: 0140264647 ISBN 13: 9780140264647
Used Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
ThriftBooks-Dallas
(Dallas, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.45. Seller Inventory # G0140264647I4N00

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 6.29
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Saul, John Ralston
Published by Penguin (1997)
ISBN 10: 0140264647 ISBN 13: 9780140264647
Used Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
WorldofBooks
(Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: Good. The book has been read but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact and the cover is intact. Some minor wear to the spine. Seller Inventory # GOR002771585

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 1.00
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 6.06
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

John Ralston Saul
Published by Penguin Books (1997)
ISBN 10: 0140264647 ISBN 13: 9780140264647
Used Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
Ergodebooks
(Houston, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: Used: Good. Seller Inventory # SONG0140264647

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 8.18
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Saul, John Ralston
Published by Penguin Books Ltd (1998)
ISBN 10: 0140264647 ISBN 13: 9780140264647
Used Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
Reuseabook
(Gloucester, GLOS, United Kingdom)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: Used; Good. Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. This book is in good condition but will show signs of previous ownership. Please expect some creasing to the spine and/or minor damage to the cover. Seller Inventory # CHL8219272

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 1.40
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 9.30
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Saul, John Ralston
Published by Penguin (1998)
ISBN 10: 0140264647 ISBN 13: 9780140264647
Used paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
Goldstone Books
(Llandybie, United Kingdom)

Book Description paperback. Condition: Good. All orders are dispatched the following working day from our UK warehouse. Established in 2004, we have over 500,000 books in stock. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied. Seller Inventory # mon0006797052

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 3.75
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 7.56
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Saul, John Ralston
Published by Penguin (1997)
ISBN 10: 0140264647 ISBN 13: 9780140264647
Used Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
medimops
(Berlin, Germany)

Book Description Befriedigend/Good: Durchschnittlich erhaltenes Buch bzw. Schutzumschlag mit Gebrauchsspuren, aber vollständigen Seiten. / Describes the average WORN book or dust jacket that has all the pages present. Seller Inventory # M00140264647-G

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 3.82
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 9.71
From Germany to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Saul, J R
Published by Penguin Books (1997)
ISBN 10: 0140264647 ISBN 13: 9780140264647
Used Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Anybook.com
(Lincoln, United Kingdom)

Book Description Condition: Good. This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside.This book has soft covers. In good all round condition. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item,300grams, ISBN:9780140264647. Seller Inventory # 8525692

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 3.26
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 15.06
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Saul, John Ralston
Published by Penguin, London, 1997 (1997)
ISBN 10: 0140264647 ISBN 13: 9780140264647
Used Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
THE CROSS Art + Books
(Sydney, NSW, Australia)

Book Description 20.0 x 13.0cms, 206pp, very good+ paperback & cover Ralton Saul argues that western societies are conformist and corporatist, where interst groups negotiate decisions and strategies. Seller Inventory # 141805

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 7.38
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 16.50
From Australia to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Saul, John Ralston
Published by Penguin, Camberwell (1997)
ISBN 10: 0140264647 ISBN 13: 9780140264647
Used Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Syber's Books
(Melbourne, VIC, Australia)

Book Description Softcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: No Dust Jacket. reprint. clean copy, no damage to report. Our society, the author argues in the 1995 Massey lectures is only superficially based on the individual and democracy. Increasingly it is conformist and corporatist, a society in which legitimacy lies with specialist or interest groups and decisions are made through constant negotiations between these groups. The paradox of our situation is that knowledge has not made us conscious. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Please refer to accompanying picture (s). Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 500 grams. Category: Language & Linguistics; Essays & Literary Criticism. ISBN: 0140264647. ISBN/EAN: 9780140264647. Inventory No: 0267453. Seller Inventory # 0267453

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
US$ 7.38
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 17.00
From Australia to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

There are more copies of this book

View all search results for this book