Suicide of the West
How the Rebirth of Tribalism, Populism, Nationalism, and Identity Politics is Destroying American Democracy
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Suicide of the West
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Narrated by:
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Jonah Goldberg
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Written by:
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Jonah Goldberg
About this listen
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER •
An urgent argument that America and other democracies are in peril because they have lost the will to defend the values and institutions that sustain freedom and prosperity.
“Epic and debate-shifting.” (David Brooks, New York Times)
Only once in the last 250,000 years have humans stumbled upon a way to lift ourselves out of the endless cycle of poverty, hunger, and war that defines most of history. If democracy, individualism, and the free market were humankind’s destiny, they should have appeared and taken hold a bit earlier in the evolutionary record. The emergence of freedom and prosperity was nothing short of a miracle.
As Americans we are doubly blessed, because the radical ideas that made the miracle possible were written not just into the Constitution but in our hearts, laying the groundwork for our uniquely prosperous society. Those ideas are:
- Our rights come from God, not from the government.
- The government belongs to us; we do not belong to it.
- The individual is sovereign. We are all captains of our own souls, not bound by the circumstances of our birth.
- The fruits of our labors belong to us.
In the last few decades, these political virtues have been turned into vices. As we are increasingly taught to view our traditions as a system of oppression, exploitation, and privilege, the principles of liberty and the rule of law are under attack from left and right. For the West to survive, we must renew our sense of gratitude for what our civilization has given us and rediscover the ideals and habits of the heart that led us out of the bloody muck of the past - or back to the muck we will go.
©2018 Jonah Goldberg (P)2018 Random House AudioWhat listeners say about Suicide of the West
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- JF
- 2018-09-11
Uniuqe, Extremely Well Researched and Reasoned
Jonah's book deftly condenses western civilization's history from the enlightenment to today. He provides insights on human tendencies and cuts against both conservative and liberal orthodoxies while trying to convey the urgency of our moment and the fortune that we take for granted and squander away.
You will not be disappointed by this book, regardless of your ideology. You will be challenged and gain fresh perspective, and even if you don't agree with Jonah, you can be confident you've heard the best argument for his case, made in good faith.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Chad
- 2018-08-17
As good as Liberal Fascism
It would be easy to say his first book is among my favorite reads of the last two decades, and this book is right on par with the quality of his previous work.
Great listen all the way through. Many quotes and lessons to be found within.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lo
- 2019-04-12
Excellent
Must read/listen. Jonah Goldberg’s narration enhances the experience. Highly recommended to all sides of the political spectrum.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- philip moss
- 2019-01-17
Substandard reading, interesting book
After a couple hours of listening to this I had the impression that I was listening to a very intelligent argument narrated by someone who just wasn't as intelligent as the author. He seemed to read everything too emphatically. It was grating to listen to. Not every sentence can end in an exclamation point. Then I found out it was the author reading it! Too bad.
It's a good book about a topic I'm very interested in but I can't take the audio version in big doses because of how he reads. Maybe he just thinks he's reading to people who aren't as intelligent as him, so that they need to have every point hammered home?
At any rate, I'd recommend the print version over the audio in the case of this book.
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1 person found this helpful