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    Sex, Economy, Freedom, & Community: Eight Essays
    Unavailable
    Sex, Economy, Freedom, & Community: Eight Essays
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    Sex, Economy, Freedom, & Community: Eight Essays
    Ebook202 pages3 hours

    Sex, Economy, Freedom, & Community: Eight Essays

    By Wendell Berry

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    "Read [him] with pencil in hand, make notes, and hope that somehow our country and the world will soon come to see the truth that is told here." —The New York Times Book Review

    In this collection of essays, first published in 1993, Wendell Berry continues his work as one of America's most necessary social commentators. With wisdom and clear, ringing prose, he tackles head-on some of the most difficult problems which faced near the end of the twentieth-century.

    Berry elucidates connections between sexual brutality and economic brutality, and the role of art and free speech. He forcefully addresses America's unabashed pursuit of self-liberation, which he says is "still the strongest force now operating in our society." As individuals turn away from their community, they conform to a "rootless and placeless monoculture of commercial expectations and products," buying into the very economic system which is destroying the earth, our communities, and all they represent.

    Throughout the book Berry asks, What is appropriate? What is worth conserving from our past and preserving in our present? What is it to be human and truly connected to others? What does it mean to be free?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCounterpoint
    Release dateDec 4, 2018
    ISBN9781640091399
    Unavailable
    Sex, Economy, Freedom, & Community: Eight Essays

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    Reviews for Sex, Economy, Freedom, & Community

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    • 5/5
      Wendell Berry has this habit of tweaking sensibilities that you think are untweakable. Here Berry takes on the Individualism that runs rampant in American Culture, especially as it pertains to sexuality. If you are pretty sure that you dont want anyone bringing new ideas into your head, then stay the hell away from this book.
    • 4/5
      A provocative little book. The main theme of it is: America would be much better off if we returned to a community focused perspective. This is theme is applied mostly to agriculture, which the author cares a lot about, but also to sex, war and consumerism. One thing that I found very refreshing about Berry is that he's conservative, but conservative in a way that seems true to the word itself, unlike most political conservatives.
    • 5/5
      Wendell Berry sees the world through a different lens. An accomplished poet, essayist, and novelist, he chose to ignore the lure of literary New York to stay rooted in his Kentucky farm.Rooted is an important idea for Berry. If more people were rooted in their land, they would want what's best for it. In our global age we have traded in the local concrete for the global abstraction. As Berry reminds us, "abstraction is the enemy wherever it is found" (23).Berry's rootedness extends beyond his physical location. He has developed strong, firm, and often contrarian opinions which he is not ashamed to publish. For example, take his thoughts on economic growth:[quote]Unlimited economic growth implies unlimited consumption, which in turn implies unlimited pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth. (xvii)[/quote]Try his views on war:[quote]War is obsolete, in short, because it can no longer produce a net good, even to the winner. (77)[/quote]Berry on Christian government:[quote]Jesus would have been horrified by just about every "Christian" government the world has ever seen. He would be horrified by our government and its works, and it would be horrified by him. (115)[/quote]In the 8 essays (along with the superb preface, "The Joy of Sales Resistance") which make up this volume, Berry speaks the truth as clearly as he sees it. You can either disagree with him and offer counter arguments, or agree and examine your own lifestyle. One thing is impossible: when it comes to Berry, you cannot be neutral!