- Author : Mryon Magnet
- Binding : Paperback
- EAN : 9781893554023
- Edition : New edition
- ISBN : 1893554023
- Is Eligible For Trade In? : Yes
- Label : Encounter Books
- List Price : CDN$ 20.95 (CAD)
- Manufacturer : Encounter Books
- Number Of Pages : 256
- Package Dimensions : 0.80 inches (Height) x 8.90 inches (Length) x 0.70 pounds (Weight) x 6.00 inches (Width)
- Publication Date : 2000-04-01
- Publisher : Encounter Books
- Studio : Encounter Books
Customer Reviews:
Customers rated The Dream & the Nightmare: The Sixties' Legacy to the Underclass 3.5 stars out of 5.0 based on 15 reviews:very good book
by - 2004-02-06
This book is part of a growing chorus of voices that are saying that not only are the hip and multicultural ideas garbage, but that they are quickly turning America into a third world country.This book cuts through dumb ideas and tries to get us back to basics: functional families, responsibility for yourself, a work ethic -- this is the rather stringent prescription for an America that Magnet correctly describes as having run amok with bleeding heart liberalism and its dopey ideas of cheap sex, easy divorce, abortion on demand, and throwing money at the poor in the hopes that they will begin to function properly.The book isn't elegantly written and there isn't any poetry in it, but this book sets the right prescription on the table. Read it if you want to get your head on straight.Just what conservatives are looking for
by Donald Detrich (USA) - 2003-08-11
This book is well worth reading. In it you can witness first hand the twisted statistics and warped rationalizations necessary to justify the worsening disparity between the lives of most of our nation's citizens, and the mega-wealthy who run things. You can learn how poor people are just too stupid, lazy and morally depraved to overcome the corrupting good intentions of misguided liberals. Learn how to blame Dr. Spock, rock 'n' roll and those permissive liberals for all our problems. It may sound like a perfect rehash of Spiro Agnew circa 1968, but so what. Of course the punch line is, if we just discontinue funding programs that benefit poor people, so their lives are even more of a living hell than they already are, then they will surely get the message and be happy to work hard for minimum wage and quit all this whining about opportunity. This popular and pathetic argument is just the rationalization that the newly conservative and greedy need to justify supporting a system that systematically thwarts the aspirations of the poor and middle class, while ignoring the vast expense of corporate corruption. Just forget about statistics that clearly show the mega wealthy who run this country are getting richer, faster than ever before, while the poor and middle class are steadily loosing ground. Its certainly heartening to hear that this book is being championed by our president, son of a diplomat and past president, pushed through Harvard as a "C" student, who made every dime of his millions through family business connections, never worked a "real job" in his life, and happily mined his dads political connections to become our appointed president. Gee, I guess maybe wealth does have its advantages.I sincerely hope that poor and middle class people find the necessary courage to overcome the odds that have been stack against them. I also sincerely hope that the wealthy find the necessary courage to admit their complicity in the multi-billion dollar corruption that pervades or business and political community, which continues to thwart the aspirations of the rest of their fellow citizens.What A Shame!
by - 2003-02-20
Hearing that political guru Karl Rove gives a copy of this book to White House visitors, I decided to buy a copy and read it. I was disappointed to find an long winded diatribe, constantly whining about the Great Society, and blaming the social programs of the sixties for the problems of today. Mr Magnet misses the mark by several country miles.Understanding a Need for truth
by Gregory Nyman (Winchendon, MA United States) - 2003-01-21
This is one of the books that President George W. Bush said helped him to understand the newed to substitute a culture of responsibility for the false ideas of liberation that grew out of the l960's counter culture. The author explains how liberal ideological constructs concerning work, mental illness, and education produced awful consequences for the poor. They did for the rich as well, but a wealthy single mother had far more options, he says, than her counterpart. Magnet skewers warm fictions about homelessness leading to crime, noting that criminal behavior usually comes first.Why ignore the facts?
by - 2002-09-21
I find there is good reason for concern and even a taint of fear as this intent to polarize the situation regarding America's underclass persists despite historical fact revealing the "true" reasons the world is what it is today. The rise of the nation-state and the profit-seeking joint-stock companies under mercantilism largely, but partially, describe the rise of the world we see today. I am not a liberal, but to pin the entire blame of America's underclass struggles on leftist ideology is to severely and overtly miss the mark by ignoring hard historical fact. This confirms individuals' tendency to expose themselves to that which confirms their beliefs. The subject must be viewed holistically and not from a narrow political critique for sound and honest conclusions to be drawn. This book fails to do so. The "developing" world has been left with the burden of cleaning up the aftermath of colonialism and we dare say retribution and a sincere effort to lift those who were stepped on in the process is not necessary? Puerto Ricans and blacks, for example, never voluntarily chose to become part of America. Blacks were enslaved by the millions thus impoverishing their origins and we dare say we don't owe the black community anything? Blacks were officially marginalized in America. The intent to intellectually and inhumanely argue away the harm that has been done is to ignore the existence of the scar that has been left in American society and the ethnocentrism and racialism that dominates mainstream American culture that has stymied the life chances of the majority of the so-called "underclass." I believe in personal responsibility, but I have witnessed in America, and abroad, the harsh realities many people (including indigenous peoples) are subjected to in severely stratified societies where elitism is the rule and pluralism, although highly applauded in state constitutions, is the exception.I suggest you read this book with an open and critical mind. That you research and lay out a dichotomy of facts before you and then let the truth gravitate you towards an honest conclusion.
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