The Follies of SelfnChristopher Lasch: The Culture ofnNarcissism: American Life in an Agenof Diminishing Expectations; W. W.nNorton & Co.; New York.nby Charles A. MosernXTistorian Christopher Lasch, wellknownnfor some time as a radical commentatornon American life, in his latestnbook has come up with a statement ofnmovement away from certain formernpredilections. It is unlikely that ThenCulture of Narcissism represents thenfinal stage of his journey. But such isnLasch’s position in American culturenthat the appearance of this record innitself is a cultural event of certain significance,nfor, as Lasch himself writesnin his preface, “the political crisis ofncapitalism reflects a general crisis ofnWestern [liberal] culture.”nLasch sets out to interpret contemporarynAmerican culture in terms of “narcissism,”na concept which he defines atnone point as “anxious self-scrutiny.”nAlthough the noun is the more importantnpart of this definition, the adjectivenis also essential to it, for a diffusenanxiety, as at the ending of a majornhistorical epoch, does seem to be a signnof our times. Although he is too oftennrepetitive, and not always convincing,nstill his analysis of the American culture’snnarcissistic core is worth attention.nWhen Lasch extends individual narcissismninto the society as a whole, hensees its cultural manifestations as includingn”the intense fear of old age andndeath, altered sense of time, fascinationnwith celebrity, fear of competition, declinenof the play spirit, deteriorating relationsnbetween men and women.”nThough the connection between “anxiousnself-scrutiny” and all these largerncultural phenomena is not invariablynCharles A. Moser is Professor of SlavicnLiterature at George Washington Universitynin Washington, D. Cnself-evident, certainly there is a goodndeal of substance to Lasch’s negativencritique.nIt is beyond dispute that contemporarynAmericans can be self-centered to annextraordinary and unhealthy degree.nThe long decade’s journey of somenfamous political radicals of the 1960sninto absorption with the self is a strikingnexample of the shift in American culturenof the 1970s, and in fact Laschndemonstrates that the preconditions ofnsuch self-absorption were very muchnhealth, and made possible absurd decreesnfrom governmental organs on carcinogensnin food and other substances, notnto mention the mass hysteria over thennuclear mishap at Three Mile Island innwhich no one was injured, but which isnalready being successfully used for quiteninjurious political purposes. The contemporarynobsession with mental healthnas well as physical health is also a symptomnof our cultural malaise: as Laschnnotes, the very nature of the psychiatricndisorders most prevalent in our societyn”With this bleak picture oi capitalism’s corrosion of vakies. La.scli ujidaresnThe Communist Miinili.slo. “n—Nationnpresent in even what seemed superficiallynto be a highly political movementnof a decade ago. Certainly, if one acceptsnhis subtle yet useful distinctionnbetween celebrity and fame—celebritynis linked to the technological revolutionnwhich has brought us the mass media,nand especially television—and his argumentnthat “spectacle” is now “the dominantnform of cultural expression,” wenmay easily perceive that the politicalnmovements of the 1960s in large partndepended upon spectacular, theatricalngestures by celebrities, who in theirnturn had been created by television,nradio, movies, and the print media.nAlso, since these movements sought anmass base, their slogans had to be simplifiednto the greatest possible degree,nwhile their programs left no room fornthe subtleties of argument or calm deliberation.nAnyone in American academicnlife knows that a celebrity withnlittle to say will attract many timesnlarger university audiences than a wellknownnthinker bearing a message whichnrequires some intellectual responsenfrom his listeners.nX he modern emphasis upon thenself has led, for example, to obsessivenpublic concern over threats to physicalnnnhas changed, in line, it would seem, withnthe dictates of fashion. No longer, hensays, do patients suffer very much fromn”hysterical paralyses of the legs or handwashingncompulsions”; instead they fallnprey to “pervasive feelings of emptinessnand a deep disturbance of self-esteem,”ncomplaints which psychiatrists findnmuch more difficult to treat successfullynthan the classical ones. Moreover,nthe general social acceptance of the notionnof “mental health” has broughtnabout a radical alteration in our perceptionsnof individual moral responsibilitynand the introduction of what Lasch callsn”therapeutic justice,” or treating thencriminal as though he were ill rathernthan in need of punishment:n”As retributive justice gives way tontherapeutic justice, what began as anprotest against moral oversimplificationnends by destroying the very sensenof moral responsibility …. Formerlynlaw rested on an adversary relationnbetween the state and the offendernand acknowledged the superior powernof the state by giving important proceduralnadvantages to the defendant.nMedical jurisprudence, on the othernhand, implicates the offender in hisnown control.”nAt one extreme, self-absorption leadsn•HBMMMHHI.HOnSeptember/October 1979n