"Through dozens of citizens who talked with him, Wuthnow records the continuing stresses in modern economic life... [The] model of an ideal life, Wuthnow maintains, evolved before the Civil War into two schools of social thought, which he calls 'ascetic' and 'expressive' moralism... Wuthnow's impressive body of polls and interviews convinces us that both of these modern traditions remain powerful ... Read moreinfluences in American life today."
Richard Parker, The New York Times Book Review "In this sociological tract for our times, Wuthnow reconsiders the nature and meaning of the American dream in the late twentieth century. This book goes much further than merely recounting the manifold failings of American economics and culture in the pursuit of happiness... Wuthnow perceives a moral vacuum at the core of American society, and recommends that Americans systematically revisit the cultural imperatives of an earlier age to reinvent the paradigm of personal success in late capitalism. An important and timely work."
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