04w12:2 Posted March 17th, 2004 by timothy. 0 Comments Good Reads Mailing List | 2004 week 12 number 2 ——————————————————————— The Perpetual Adolescent | Joseph Epstein http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/825grtdi.asp “The people in those earlier baseball crowds, though watching a boyish game, nonetheless had a radically different conception of themselves than most Americans do now. […] they thought of themselves as adults, no longer kids, but grown-ups, adults, men. How different from today, when a good part of the crowd at any ballgame, no matter what the age, is wearing jeans and team caps and T-shirts […] Life in that different day was felt to observe the human equivalent of the Aristotelian unities: to have, like a good drama, a beginning, middle, and end. Each part, it was understood, had its own advantages and detractions, but the middle–adulthood–was the lengthiest and most earnest part, where everything serious happened and much was at stake.[…]Today, of course, all this has been shattered. The ideal almost everywhere is to seem young for as long as possible […] One of the many tenets in its credo–soon to become a cliché, but no less significant for that–was that no one over 30 was to be trusted. (If you were part of that movement and 21 years old in 1965, you are 60 today. Good morning, Sunshine.)” Marketplace of Ideas: But First, The Bill | William Osborne http://www.artsjournal.com/artswatch/20040311-11320.shtml “As an American who has lived in Europe for the last 24 years, I see on a daily basis how different the American and European economic systems are, and how deeply this affects the ways they produce, market and perceive art. America advocates supply-side economics, small government and free trade – all reflecting a belief that societies should minimize government expenditure and maximize deregulated, privatized global capitalism. Corporate freedom is considered a direct and analogous extension of personal freedom. Europeans, by contrast, hold to mixed economies with large social and cultural programs. Governmental spending often equals about half the GNP. Europeans argue that an unmitigated capitalism creates an isomorphic, corporate-dominated society with reduced individual and social options. Americans insist that privatization and the marketplace provide greater efficiency than governments. These two economic systems have created something of a cultural divide between Europeans and Americans.” —————————————- http://goodreads.timothycomeau.com To remove or add yourself from this list, email tim@goodreads.ca emailed by Timothy on Wednesday 17 March 2004 @ 10:54 PM
