Hist 102 - Foundations of Western History

Essay 1

HIST 102

Global Culture since 1500

Mike Gubser

1/30/17

Alison O’Bryan

“Something is profoundly wrong with the way we live today,” writes Judt on the opening page

of Ill Fares the Land.  What is wrong, in his view, and how can we correct it?  

        Tony Judt writes of a society today that is fundamentally unsustainable to humanity. Delving into history and the events of the last several decades, Judt describes several main flaws with how we live today. The obsession with wealth and the growing disparity between the rich and the poor, the privatization and unchecked capitalism, and the “delusion of endless growth” (pg. 2). These are the fundamental flaws with how we think today, and because of these shifts in mentality Judt argues that there is an increasing anxiety about the world we are currently living in.

        Over the past thirty years there has been a shift of mentality and focus. All of the wealth advanced countries have created is far beyond what was even a hundred years ago. The focus to “make a living” and earn wealth has become equated to happiness and success in modern societies according to Judt. Citing outside sources on mental illness and the rise of income disparities in countries like the USA and the UK, Judt presents the argument that not only has this shift in mentality caused a rise in unhappiness, but that it has also caused the collapse of egalitarian societies. There is a strong focus on consumerism and luxury products, but there is less emphasis on infrastructure. Judt discusses how highways and bridges are under maintained, there are failed schools, and there is an exponential rise of the “unemployed, underpaid, and uninsured” (pg. 12).  In difficult economic times such as the 1930s and Pre-WW2, the population is more accepting of redistribution. However, since the economics of the world have flourished, the privileged few continue to gain while the disadvantaged majority suffer. This is the illusion of capitalism today and the fully developed economies of the world.

        The privatization and façade of capitalism continue to cause the problems with the way we live today. In the 1980s, the rise of conservatives of the world finally made a breakthrough in their philosophies. Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan were the first right-wing politicians to change the direction of society. “Conservatives could point to a contrast between themselves and the old Left,” (pg. 95) and because of this, the focus on privatization and capitalism began. Cutting funding for the coal industry in the UK, slashing of government programs, and the overall lack of government involvement in economic affairs led to the shift of policy from the “we” to the “me” mentality. The public began to see large governments and welfare as the problem instead of the solution, and with strong Conservative leaders in power the push for the private sector was finally achieved. The focus on the individual and the independence from the government led to what exists today. In short, “what had once been implicitly accepted as a reciprocal arrangement came to be described as ‘unfair’: the benefits of the welfare state were now ‘excessive’” (pg. 147).