"We Have Met the Enemy": New book looks at why we often don't resist temptation
Posted Jan 05 2011 12:00am
This new book is getting lots of press. Although I have not read it, I would guess from the reviews I've seen that the book may spark some heated discussions, arguments, or even quarrels. Excerpts from some of the reviews of We Have Met the Enemy: Self-Control in an Age of Excess are below.
A clever blend of scientifically informed polemic and morally minded jeremiad, “We Have Met the Enemy’s’’ guiding assumption is that in our age of affluence the “ideology of temptation’’ has changed. A constellation of powerful forces, from the accessibility of fast food and casual sexual encounters to the weakening of community ties and capitalism’s exhortation to consume, have outpaced common sense. Since forgiveness comes more naturally to us than condemnation, we pathologize excess. We’re all not guilty by reason of disease. As [Daniel] Akst writes, “That it’s now possible to be addicted
From " Unprincipled Pleasures ": (Boston Globe):
A clever blend of scientifically informed polemic and morally minded jeremiad, “We Have Met the Enemy’s’’ guiding assumption is that in our age of affluence the “ideology of temptation’’ has changed. A constellation of powerful forces, from the accessibility of fast food and casual sexual encounters to the weakening of community ties and capitalism’s exhortation to consume, have outpaced common sense. Since forgiveness comes more naturally to us than condemnation, we pathologize excess. We’re all not guilty by reason of disease. As [Daniel] Akst writes, “That it’s now possible to be addictedContinue reading ""We Have Met the Enemy": New book looks at why we often don't resist temptation" »