{"product_id":"the-postmodern-predicament-existential-challenges-of-the-twenty-first-century-9780300273502","title":"The Postmodern Predicament: Existential Challenges of the Twenty-First Century","description":"\u003cb\u003eOne of our most influential political theorists offers a boundary-breaking--and liberating--perspective on the meaning of life in the internet age\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Human beings have taken one thing for granted since our earliest days: we are bodily creatures dealing with one another on a face-to-face basis. The internet has shattered this fundamental feature of human existence. We are suddenly living our lives in two worlds at once--shifting endlessly from virtual to physical reality as we reach out to others. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Worse yet, we are developing different personal identities in our two worlds. We say and do things in virtual reality that flatly contradict our face-to-face commitments to family, friends, and fellow-workers--and vice versa. \u003ci\u003eThe Postmodern Predicament \u003c\/i\u003eexplores these dilemmas at each phase of the life cycle, beginning at the moment a young child picks up a cell phone. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The existentialist tradition of the twentieth century provides a precious perspective on our postmodern dilemmas. Thinkers and doers like Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre considered the fragmentation of modern life as a central source of contemporary anxieties. Like them, Ackerman views the challenges of the internet age as a political, no less than personal, problem--and proposes concrete reforms that that could mobilize broad-based support for democracy against demagogic assaults on its very foundations.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBruce Ackerman\u003c\/b\u003e is Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University and the author of numerous books on political philosophy, constitutional law, and public policy, including \u003ci\u003eRevolutionary Constitutions\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSocial Justice in the Liberal State\u003c\/i\u003e, and the three-volume series \u003ci\u003eWe the People\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Yale University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50489221513490,"sku":"9780300273502","price":30.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_74564baa-9e7e-408c-bd8d-43d452a2c3a2.jpg?v=1730491853","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-postmodern-predicament-existential-challenges-of-the-twenty-first-century-9780300273502","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}