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The Politics Of Meaning: Restoring Hope And Possibility In An Age Of Cynicism Hardcover – April 25, 1996

by Michael Lerner (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 10 ratings
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A thought-provoking critique of contemporary liberalism and conservatism alike offers a detailed program for reinstituting a spiritually sensitive and ethical society and challenges the modern-day materialism and selfishness of today's market-driven culture.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    355 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Basic Books
  4. Publication date
    April 25, 1996
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0201479664
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0201479669
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Michael Lerner, former radical and crusading editor of the magazine of Jewish thought,Tikkun, has never lost his idealism. Until now Lerner has been promoting his ideas, dubbed "the politics of meaning," through his magazine and in lectures and workshops around the country. He won praise from Hillary Clinton, although that soured under media spotlight. This book lays out his analysis of America's spiritual emptiness, encouraging direct political action to enlarge the sense of community. He rejects both the right's profit-oriented bottom line and the left's splintering of society into minority rights ghettoes. Though his ideas are rooted in Judaism, his concept of God is broadly inclusive, and his critique is relevant to all Americans.

From Library Journal

As ongoing editorial leader of the Jewish-ecumenical Tikkun, Lerner has long been among the more humanistic and balanced thinkers rooted in the New Left. Here he writes explicitly in response to the premature pronouncements that the American public has decisively embraced a New Right orientation. He is not that concerned with the particulars of current politics, which is a pity for readers who will otherwise accept his basic orientation. Lerner's thesis boils down to the notion that Americans today are hungry for values and that through "politics of meaning," not mere materialism but ethical behavior and community-thoughtfulness, they can achieve an alternative orientation to an alienating market that presently wears down family and spirituality. The book's final pages, which regret that the Clintons have not stood by principles that at moments seemed harmonious with Lerner's, are rousing, even remarkable, and his thoughts on an array of controversies from affirmative action to movies merit respect. But Lerner's ideas, whatever their quality, are overwrapped in redundant platitudes and wearisome slogans. Overall, a boring book filled with significant notions.?Scott H. Silverman, Bryn Mawr Coll. Lib., Pa.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books; First Edition (April 25, 1996)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 355 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0201479664
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0201479669
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.45 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 10 ratings

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
10 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

esbrew
5.0 out of 5 stars So relevant 30 years later!
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2019
Verified Purchase
I heard of this book in a bibliography from The Ancient Hours of Sunlight, which I loved. This book still applies to today's political & cultural situation in the U.S. It is repetitive at times, but the insights into Liberal & Conservative philosophy & policies is spot on. And his suggestions for how to radically change our values & from there, our economic & social systems is very encouraging & inspiring.
One person found this helpful
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George Kagawa
5.0 out of 5 stars One of Top 8 Books That Change The World
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2016
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Recom. by Neale Donald Walsch
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Robertaccio
4.0 out of 5 stars Great ideas and I love the intentions but
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2002
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....However, difficult it could be to change the world we are living in to a better one as the book suggests, it is not just a challenge, but a must try.
I have a feeling though that Michael is not trying to reach the general population but is aiming at the intellectual world. His writing, although very high level, seems to be quite challenging for people of a lesser education or younger age.
If we already know that it'll take years to incorporate this new way of living, maybe we should also include a younger audience.
Aren't the children of today, the leaders of tomorrow?
7 people found this helpful
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Valerie J. Saturen
5.0 out of 5 stars As Pertinent as Ever
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2011
In the mid-90's, rabbi, psychologist, and Tikkun founder Michael Lerner sounded this clarion call: Something must be done about the widespread cynicism and disengagement that characterize our society.

Lerner's THE POLITICS OF MEANING was written during an era analogous to the present, when Clinton failed to hold onto his Democratic Congress. The book argues that both liberals and conservatives have failed to address the crisis of meaning created by the materialistic, self-centered value system enshrined by our market society. Conservatives talk about moral values, but support economic policies in which we're all expected to fend for ourselves with little social or environmental responsibility. By contrast, liberals support policies that mitigate some of the most egregious effects of the free market system, but fail to challenge the skewed values behind it. Further, even on issues like health care, morality is rarely part of the liberal framing. The Left offers a more systemic critique of our economic system, but one that is typically so rooted in materialism as to degrade humanity. Marx himself barely seemed to recognize humanity's capacity for anything other than the pursuit of material self-interest.

And therein lies much of the appeal of the Right. The Right actually addresses the hunger for meaning, albeit in ways that are often fundamentalist, repressive, and/or xenophobic. It's long been observed that people tend to look for scapegoats in times of economic distress ("Mexicans are stealing all our jobs" or "we're losing our jobs because blacks get special treatment" or "Jews control the economy and media"). But Lerner adds another dimension. For many, being un- or underemployed brings more than strictly economic pain. In a society that, above all, values one's ability to be productive and buy stuff, hard times create alienation and even self-hatred. Then, along comes the right-wing movement that says, "Hey, we don't care what you produce or consume. We value for who you are. You deserve respect just for being [insert ethnic/religious/ideological/national category here]." Unfortunately, that kind of in-group solidarity almost always requires a vilified out-group. I think this offers some explanation for the right-wing surge we see today.

Lerner emphasizes that the crisis of meaning cannot be solved through the solipsism of New Age philosophies, which focus on individual "self-help." He also repudiates political correctness and the liberal tendency to demonize white males. Even the ostensibly "privileged," he argues, suffer the great alienation that accompanies a bottom-line-driven individualist ethos. In place of the unhelpful solutions above, Lerner puts forth the progressive answer to the pro-family agenda championed by the Right. His approach seeks to replace the narrow concept of the isolated, patriarchal nuclear family with a more expansive definition of "family." This progressive pro-family agenda accepts non-nuclear family arrangements (and same-sex unions); respects women, children, and seniors; and places the family within a supportive larger community. In policy terms, it advocates a meaning-oriented work environment, a healthier work-family balance, a strong social safety net, and an education system that integrates ethical development into the curriculum.

I agree with Lerner's conclusion: Progressives must create a meaningful narrative of their own--one they can clearly articulate to the American people--if they want to see their vision of social change to fruition. THE POLITICS OF MEANING provides an extremely valuable jumping-off point for this effort, and in today's political landscape, there could be no better time in which to revisit it.
3 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book About an Idea Whose Time Has Come
Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2001
Rabbi Dr. Lerner has written a wonderful book about an idea whose time has come. If the media and politicians would act upon these ideas, our national life would benefit immeasurably. Rancor and discord would be replaced by harmony and dialogue. Senator Hilary Clinton embraced this book, and her espousal of its ideas no doubt helped her win election as our junior senator from New York.
Dr. Lerner is in the forefront of Jewish thought today. He seeks to engage the culture at large in a way that is beneficial for Jews and Gentiles alike. His efforts in this book and elsewhere are to be applauded.
12 people found this helpful
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John S. Ryan
1.0 out of 5 stars The intellectual bankruptcy of the Left
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 1998
Rabbi Michael Lerner wants to develop a leftist response to the Religious Right. Unfortunately he throws out the baby and _keeps_ the bathwater: retaining a vague veneer of "spirituality," he rejects the political and economic theories that are in fact the Right's real strength.

Proclaiming himself "agnostic about capitalism," he nevertheless proceeds to disagree with capitalism point by point, denouncing the "selfishness" and "materialism" of modern America and decrying the power of the "market" to impose values on its apparently passive victims (shades of Vance Packard!).

Our real problem, he asserts upon astoundingly little evidence, is that we are "systematically misrecognized" by our families, friends and peers; what we need, he says, is a "politics of meaning" that seeks to rebuild community and change the "bottom line" of our culture.

It is unfortunate that he did not feel compelled to study capitalist theory before rejecting it in toto; otherwise, he might have learned that the "market" is precisely a vast network of human beings cooperating in the production of values and that most of the "problems" he cites stem directly from the increasing power of the federal government. But his characterizations of "capitalist theory" suggest that he consulted no higher authority than John Kenneth Galbraith.

If this is the best the Left can do, then the Left is intellectually bankrupt. Anyone interested in "the politics of meaning" should skip Rabbi Lerner's book and instead study the _meaning of politics_, beginning with the Austrian School economists -- Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard, et alia. And maybe a little Ayn Rand too.
15 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

David Wright
5.0 out of 5 stars Full of wisdom
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 3, 2016
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An extraordinarily wise book that every politician or aspiring politician should read.
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