000 01937nam a2200169 a 4500
999 _c27610
_d27610
001 62148
020 _a9781408851609
082 _a306.30973 RO IM
100 _aRoberts, Paul
_945184
245 1 0 _aThe impulse society :
_bwhat's wrong with getting what we want
_cby Paul Roberts
260 _aLondon :
_bBloomsbury,
_c2014.
300 _a308 pages ;
_c24 cm.
520 _aWhat do soaring debt, endemic narcissism, road rage, political attack ads and killer drones share in common? All are symptoms of a society that moves, reflexively and relentlessly, to exploit the fastest, most efficient means to any end, without regard to cost. This is the 'impulse society' in which we live. In every facet of postindustrial society - the way we eat, the way we communicate and entertain, the way we work, the way we court lovers and raise children, educate and govern - technology and affluence has let us reach our goals with a speed and efficiency unimaginable even a generation ago. But the result is not all milk, honey, and gold. Companies now reflexively maximise short-term gain at the expense of long-term success. Politicians resort with ever-greater speed to nasty campaign tactics, and can count on their damaging claims to spread before the facts catch up with them. Consumers engage in serial over-indulgence and pursue instant gratification of every whim with speed and greed. The costs of living this way are substantial: financial volatility, health epidemics, environmental exhaustion and political paralysis, to say nothing of a growing, gnawing dissatisfaction. In this epoch-defining book, Paul Roberts traces the roots of this problem, damningly revealing how it has permeated society, and cogently argues how it may, perhaps, still be reversed.
650 7 _aUnited States
_xEconomic conditions
_x21st century
_945185
856 _uhttps://uowd.box.com/s/k78aqq08661ow064bal9f13f0y25k0ma
_zLocation Map
942 _cREGULAR
_2ddc