REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE
BOOK REVIEW: How globalisation has ‘deepened’ humanity’s ugly tendencies
Essayist Pankaj Mishra presents wrenching confirmation that humankind is irrational and cannot govern self-interest in a manner that overrides primordial motivations
Age of Anger: A History of the Present Pankaj Mishra Allen Lane, Penguin Random House The world has never been more egalitarian; the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall heralded the triumph of free will, a liberal political order and open markets. So why is there still a schism between classes and why does today’s proletariat mock — even hate — the political elite? Where does social media’s outrage and visceral, tribal indignation stem from and why is it proudly proclaimed — even by mild-mannered, sensible middle-class citizens in developed countries who have never had it so comfortable? In attempting an explanation, essayist Pankaj Mishra focuses his lens on the sociological, philosophical and political forces unleashed by the mid-18th century Age of Enlightenment, which catalysed Europe into liberté, égalité and fraternité. Age of Anger picks over the bones of its effects two-and-a-half centuries later, presenting wrenching confirmation that humankind is irrational and cannot govern self...
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