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The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy. By Christopher Lasch. (New York: Norton, 1995. x, 276 pp. $22.00, ISBN 0-393-03699-5.)
In this posthumously published collection of essays, perhaps better considered as jeremiads, Christopher Lasch returns to the concerns that have distinguished his scholarship for over three decades: the dangers of elitism, the irony of reform, the decline of public culture, the power of religion, and the value of common sense. With both self-righteousness and deep concern, Lasch depicts how the wealthy professional classes, sitting smugly in their insulated world of mobility and wealth, render decisions, in the name of technical and intellectual expertise, that actually undermine the vitality of participatory democracy. As in his earlier works, Lasch indicates how the actions of this professional elite (who, we are told, comprise 20 percent of the population) have dire consequences: welfare...