David Brooks weighs in on the latest data regarding marriage. The poor man. I know of no one who is more tied in knots over contemporary notions of autonomy than is Brooks.
the chief end of man is now “talent maximization.” what else is left to be said?
Well, he certainly seems to be offering rationalization for what is, rather than analyzing what might be optimal, and why. Generally, when traditional social groups and mutual obligations break up, they have ceased to fulfill a beneficial purpose. It betrays a hefty dose of hubris to assume that we will never form stable, sustaining mutual obligations again out of the current drift.
Isn’t this satire, on the order of “A Modest Proposal”? It only makes sense as such.
Not far from here, there is a little chapel left over from an abandoned monastery, kept up and open to the public if one knows which little backwoods store has the key. Having read the Brooks’ article linked supra, I believe that I will go there and pray in solitude against the loneliness which lurks beneath the anti-culture which Brooks embraces. Where there is loneliness there can be no solitude.
Brooks attempts to divine sense from an utterly senseless culture and so finds himself haunting many a cul-de-sac. Please allow me to forward you a membership form to the “If David Brooks is a Conservative, I’m a 15′ tall Amazonian Hemaphrodite Society”. Meetings are infrequent, generally tart and there are always whiskey and cigar cauterization on hand to treat resulting wounds.
the chief end of man is now “talent maximization.” what else is left to be said?
Well, he certainly seems to be offering rationalization for what is, rather than analyzing what might be optimal, and why. Generally, when traditional social groups and mutual obligations break up, they have ceased to fulfill a beneficial purpose. It betrays a hefty dose of hubris to assume that we will never form stable, sustaining mutual obligations again out of the current drift.
Isn’t this satire, on the order of “A Modest Proposal”? It only makes sense as such.
Not far from here, there is a little chapel left over from an abandoned monastery, kept up and open to the public if one knows which little backwoods store has the key. Having read the Brooks’ article linked supra, I believe that I will go there and pray in solitude against the loneliness which lurks beneath the anti-culture which Brooks embraces. Where there is loneliness there can be no solitude.
Brooks attempts to divine sense from an utterly senseless culture and so finds himself haunting many a cul-de-sac. Please allow me to forward you a membership form to the “If David Brooks is a Conservative, I’m a 15′ tall Amazonian Hemaphrodite Society”. Meetings are infrequent, generally tart and there are always whiskey and cigar cauterization on hand to treat resulting wounds.
Comments are closed.