"This "is" the end of the world as we've known it," Kurt Andersen writes in Reset. "But it isn't the end of the world." In this smart and refreshingly hopeful book, Andersen-a brilliant analyst and synthesizer of historical and cultural trends, as well as a bestselling novelist and host of public radio's "Studio 360"-shows us why the current economic crisis is actually a moment of great opportunity to get ourselves and our nation back on track. Historically, America has always shifted between wild, exuberant speculation ...
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"This "is" the end of the world as we've known it," Kurt Andersen writes in Reset. "But it isn't the end of the world." In this smart and refreshingly hopeful book, Andersen-a brilliant analyst and synthesizer of historical and cultural trends, as well as a bestselling novelist and host of public radio's "Studio 360"-shows us why the current economic crisis is actually a moment of great opportunity to get ourselves and our nation back on track. Historically, America has always shifted between wild, exuberant speculation and steady, sober hard work, as well as back and forth between economic booms and busts, and between right and left politically. This is one of the rare moments when all these cycles shift dramatically and simultaneously-a moment when complacency ends, ossified structures loosen up, and enormous positive change is possible. The shock to the system can enable each of us to rethink certain habits and focus more on the things that make us authentically happy. The present flux can enable us as a society to consolidate the enormous gains of the last several decades in areas such as technology, crime prevention, women's and civil rights, and the democratization of the planet. We can reap the fruits of a revival of realism and pragmatism at home and abroad. As we enter a new era of post-party-line common sense, we can start to reinvent hopelessly broken systems-in health care, education, climate change, and more-and rediscover some of the old-fashioned American values of which we've lost sight. In Reset, Andersen explains how we've done it before and why we are about to do it again-and better than ever.
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Written during the depths of the recession in 2009 and just after the inauguration of President Obama, Kurt Andersen's short book, "Reset-- How this Crisis Can Restore Our Values and Renew America", sounded a note of optimism. Anderson, a novelist, radio host, and former editor, tried to show the sources of the difficulty in which the United States found itself and how it could rebound from them and emerge wiser and stronger. I recently (2010) had the opportunity to hear Andersen speak and then to read his book.
In a brief 70 pages, the book covers a good deal in a sweeping way. Andersen finds that the difficulties in which the United States found itself was due to what he terms a "casino economy" in which Americans adopted a model of gambling and easy money and satisfaction in their economic and personal lives. He attributes this attitude to the Reagan years with 1986 as a pivotal point, but he also looks back to the late 1960s with their emphasis on individuality and doing one's own thing. Then, Andersen takes a historical view. He finds that much of American history can be characterized in terms of the fable of the ant and the grasshopper. Periods of hard work and self-sacrifice by Americans have alternated with periods of hedonism and good times. The Recession signals emphatically the end of a latter such period, Andersen argues, and presents an opportunity for Americans to reflect and take stock on where they have been and where they want to go. In other words, the industrious ant will again come to the fore but with differences from analogous ant-like periods in the past. We have the opportunity to learn from our experiences and mistakes.
Andersen offers a brief "seven step program for America" which centers upon recognizing that Americans have been living unduly large for the prior quarter century, identifying the deficiencies of character that has led to this condition, and working to change them. He calls for a revival of the spirit of pragmatism in solving problems as opposed to a spirit of ideological commitment. He finds that in his campaign and in the early days of his presidency that President Obama exemplified a pragmatic spirit. Besides a spirit of moderation and self-reflection, and the realization that Americans should pursue goals in addition to maximizing wealth and instant gratification,Andersen sees opportunities for growth and creativity in the current economy. He celebrates the "amateur spirit" in which new economic realities allow people to move forward and succeed without preoccupations. In one of the finest passages of the book, Andersen writes:
"I like paradoxes which is why, even though I'm not particularly religious, Zen Buddhism has always appealed to me. Take the paradoxical state that Buddhists seek to achieve, what they call sho-shin or 'beginners mind.' The twentieth-century Japanese Zen master Shunryu Suzuki, who spent the last dozen years of his life in America, wrote that 'in the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few.' Which sounds to me very much like the core of Daniel Boorstin's amateur spirit. "The main obstacle to progress is not ignorance,' Boorstin wrote, 'but the illusion of knowledge.' (p.69)
Writing in early 2009, Andersen did not anticipate much of the divisiveness that the United States has experienced since then and he may have been overly-optimistic about the end of the current Recession. I don't think these developments undercut the basic value of Andersen's advice.
The book is short and sketchy and unconvincing in some of its particulars but worth reading nevertheless. Andersen has read widely, but his book does not identify many of the works which may have influenced his thinking. In its historical approach, I was reminded of Daniel Walker Howe's study of Pre-Civil War America, "What Hath God Wrought". In its emphasis on pragmatism, I was reminded of Louis Menand's study, "The Metaphysical Club".