The War Against the Past

Frank Furedi 지음

Polity 2024년 08월 20일 출간

작품소개

책소개

A war is being waged against the Past. Whether it’s toppling statues, decolonising the curriculum or erasing terms from our vocabulary, a cultural crusade is underway designed to render the past toxic. It is condemned as enemy territory and has become the target of venomous hate. What is at stake in provoking such a strong sense of societal shame towards Western history? In this book, Frank Furedi mounts a fierce defence of the past and calls for a fight back against the delegitimization of its ideals and accomplishments. Casting the past as a story of shame has become a taken-for granted outlook permeating the educational and cultural life of western society from the top down. Its advocates may see it as a cultural imperative, but a society that loses touch with its past will face a permanent crisis of identity. Squandering the wisdom provided by our historical inheritance means betraying humanity’s positive achievements. Challenging this great betrayal, Furedi argues, is one of the most important battles of our time.

목차

Acknowledgments Preface Introduction Chapter 1 What Is the Past? Chapter 2 The War’s Long Gestation Chapter 3 The Ideology of Year Zero Chapter 4 The Present Eternalised Chapter 5 Identity and the Past Chapter 6 The Struggle to Control Language Chapter 7 Disinheriting The Young from Their Past Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

출판사 서평

"While illiberal powers in Moscow and Beijing pose external threats, internal 'decolonizers' undermine the West’s self-confidence by blackening its record. This lucid analysis of the Culture Wars’ historical front makes a vital contribution to the defence of liberal democracies."Nigel Biggar, Regius Professor Emeritus of Moral Theology at the University of Oxford and author of Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning"This book is like a bolt of lightning, a flash that reveals one of the major forces pulling down Western democracies as we face rising competition from other systems: it is the decades-long effort by activists and some intellectuals to poison the past and cut us and especially our children off from it. Furedi shows that without a past, it is very difficult to find meaning in the present or hope for the future. Furedi's analysis is brilliant and the need for action is urgent. We must end the War Against the Past."Jonathan Haidt, NYU-Stern School of Business"In The War Against the Past, Frank Furedi argues that a strong personal identity depends on the ability of children to inherit a meaningful past. But for over a century, this chain of transmission has been under continual assault from progressives whose aim is to ruin our view of the past and render it hateful and worthless to us. Furedi paints a powerful portrait of the devastation, and offers a haunting meditation on a generation growing up without any past at all."Yoram Hazony, author of Conservatism: A Rediscovery"This book is essential reading for anybody and everybody who has an interest in the so-called 'Culture Wars,' in how a new generation of elites are increasingly trying to reshape and rewrite the past for political ends."Matthew J. Goodwin, University of Kent, Rutherford College "In this deeply researched and brilliantly written book, Frank Furedi shines a light on what is at stak

작가정보

저자(글) Frank Furedi