Academic

David Brooks: The Gospel of Wealth

By Calvin Massey

     In an op-ed  in the New York Times David Brooks reminds us of the "manic energy" that Americans have always exhibited, energy directed toward the creation of personal wealth.  Brooks asserts that though the Obama administration is indifferent (dare I say hostile?) to this strand of American culture, the gospel of wealth is part of America's DNA and will reassert itself with vigor.  I anticipate the critics' sneers:  Brooks is lauding the American penchant for Babbitry.  Well, they better go re-read Sinclair Lewis's Babbitt. In the end, George Babbitt embraces his son's refusal to live out Babbitt's idea of the successful life, and he endorses his son Ted's desire to seek his own fortune as an inventor.  Lewis, a skilled satirist of commercial desire who portrayed Babbitt as hobbled by the need to conform, concluded his novel with a hopeful acceptance of the rebellious son, seeking his fortune by rejecting conformity.  So, in the end, even Babbitt displays the DNA David Brooks identifies.  You may lament the cupidity and materialism of American culture, but Brooks is right about the American mania.  

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on March 17, 2009 (boomark / email).