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The New Vichy Syndrome: Why European Intellectuals Surrender to Barbarism

(Paperback)


Publishing Details

Full Title:

The New Vichy Syndrome: Why European Intellectuals Surrender to Barbarism

Contributors:

By (Author) Theodore Dalrymple

ISBN:

9781594035661

Publisher:

Encounter Books,USA

Imprint:

Encounter Books,USA

Publication Date:

27th October 2011

Country:

United States

Classifications

Readership:

General

Fiction/Non-fiction:

Non Fiction

Main Subject:
Other Subjects:

Social and cultural history
European history

Dewey:

001.0940905

Physical Properties

Physical Format:

Paperback

Number of Pages:

163

Dimensions:

Width 152mm, Height 228mm

Weight:

297g

Description

Western Europe is in a strangely neurotic condition of being smug and terrified at the same time. On the one hand, Europeans believe they have at last created an ideal social and political system in which man can live comfortably. In many ways, things have never been better on the old continent. On the other hand, there is growing anxiety that Europe is quickly falling behind in an aggressive, globalized world. Europe is at the forefront of nothing, its demographics are rapidly transforming in unsettling ways, and the ancient threat of barbarian invasion has resurfaced in a fresh manifestation.
In The New Vichy Syndrome, Theodore Dalrymple traces this malaise back to the great conflicts of the last century and their devastating effects upon the European psyche. From issues of religion, class, colonialism, and nationalism, Europeans hold a "miserablist" view of their history, one that alternates between indifference and outright contempt of the past. Today's Europeans no longer believe in anything but personal economic security, an increased standard of living, shorter working hours, and long vacations in exotic locales.
The result, Dalrymple asserts, is an unwillingness to preserve European achievements and the dismantling of western culture by Europeans themselves. As vapid hedonism and aggressive Islamism fill this cultural void, Europeans have no one else to blame for their plight.

Author Bio

Theodore Dalrymple is a former psychiatrist and prison doctor. He writes a column for The Spectator, contributes frequently to the Daily Telegraph, and is a contributing editor of the Manhattan Institute's City Journal. He lives in France.

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