First published 2012
Christopher Hayes examines how America's institutions collapsed during what he calls the Fail Decade. Wall Street crumbled, Congress lost credibility, and the Catholic Church faced scandal while corporate America and Major League Baseball battled corruption. Hayes argues that meritocracy created these problems rather than solving them. Since the 1960s, a diverse group rose to power through merit-based selection. These new elites embraced growing inequality that benefited them personally. Their success increased the distance between rulers and citizens. Hayes contends this produced leaders more susceptible to failure and corruption than previous generations. The result is a society that forgives mistakes at the top while punishing harshly at the bottom. Americans lost faith in government, corporations, and media. This authority crisis now threatens both politics and daily life. Hayes challenges standard political categories to explain our current moment.
Genres: american, political-science, non-fiction, 21st-century, current-affairs, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: institutional-critique, social-commentary
Period: 1960s, Fail Decade
304 pages · Hardcover · Crown