{"product_id":"the-postmodern-predicament-bruce-ackerman-9780300273502","title":"The Postmodern Predicament: Existential Challenges of the Twenty-First Century","description":"\u003cb\u003eOne of our most influential political theorists offers a boundary-breaking--and liberating--perspective on the meaning of life in the internet age\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Human beings have taken one thing for granted since our earliest days: we are bodily creatures dealing with one another on a face-to-face basis. The internet has shattered this fundamental feature of human existence. We are suddenly living our lives in two worlds at once--shifting endlessly from virtual to physical reality as we reach out to others. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Worse yet, we are developing different personal identities in our two worlds. We say and do things in virtual reality that flatly contradict our face-to-face commitments to family, friends, and fellow-workers--and vice versa. \u003ci\u003eThe Postmodern Predicament \u003c\/i\u003eexplores these dilemmas at each phase of the life cycle, beginning at the moment a young child picks up a cell phone. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The existentialist tradition of the twentieth century provides a precious perspective on our postmodern dilemmas. Thinkers and doers like Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre considered the fragmentation of modern life as a central source of contemporary anxieties. Like them, Ackerman views the challenges of the internet age as a political, no less than personal, problem--and proposes concrete reforms that that could mobilize broad-based support for democracy against demagogic assaults on its very foundations.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Bruce Ackerman\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0300273509\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780300273502\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Yale University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/02\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.10lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.10h x 5.50w x 1.30d","brand":"Bruce Ackerman","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44810029826303,"sku":"9780300273502","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_45edcc93-c1c1-4bdd-b8f6-23fcff87a748.jpg?v=1707928139","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-postmodern-predicament-bruce-ackerman-9780300273502","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}