One of America’s most astute and engaging political analysts, Michael Parenti shows us that culture is a changing process and the product of a dynamic interplay between a wide range of social and political interests. Drawing from cultures around the world, Parenti shows that beliefs and practices are readily subjected to political manipulation, and that many parts of culture are being commodified, separated from their group or communal origins, to be packaged and sold to those who can pay for them. Folk culture is giving way to a corporate market culture. Art, science, medicine, and psychiatry can be used as instruments of cultural control, and even marriage, the "foundation of society," has been misused by heterosexuals across the centuries. Using vivid examples and riveting arguments throughout, ranging from the everyday to the esoteric, and penned with eloquence and irony, The Culture Struggle presents a collection of snapshots of our time.
“Michael Parenti is a towering and prophetic voice in American life. We need him now more than ever!” –Cornel West
“Michael Parenti has educated generations of Americans—including my own—on the merits of a radical world view and progressive politics. In The Culture Struggle, Parenti is at the top of his game. his arguments about the importance of culture and his debunking of the dominant ideology is masterful and written with precise and crystal clear prose that few other writers can approach, let alone equal.” –Robert W. McChesney
MICHAEL PARENTI is a critically acclaimed author and an extraordinary public speaker. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Yale University and has taught at a number of colleges and universities, in the United States and abroad. He is the author of numerous books, including Superpariotism, The Assassination of Julius Caesar, and Inventing Reality.
One of America’s most astute and engaging political analysts, Michael Parenti shows us that culture is a changing process and the product of a dynamic interplay between a wide range of social and political interests. Drawing from cultures around the world, Parenti shows that beliefs and practices are readily subjected to political manipulation, and that many parts of culture are being commodified, separated from their group or communal origins, to be packaged and sold to those who can pay for them. Folk culture is giving way to a corporate market culture. Art, science, medicine, and psychiatry can be used as instruments of cultural control, and even marriage, the "foundation of society," has been misused by heterosexuals across the centuries. Using vivid examples and riveting arguments throughout, ranging from the everyday to the esoteric, and penned with eloquence and irony, The Culture Struggle presents a collection of snapshots of our time.
Reviews
“Michael Parenti is a towering and prophetic voice in American life. We need him now more than ever!” –Cornel West
“Michael Parenti has educated generations of Americans—including my own—on the merits of a radical world view and progressive politics. In The Culture Struggle, Parenti is at the top of his game. his arguments about the importance of culture and his debunking of the dominant ideology is masterful and written with precise and crystal clear prose that few other writers can approach, let alone equal.” –Robert W. McChesney
Author
MICHAEL PARENTI is a critically acclaimed author and an extraordinary public speaker. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Yale University and has taught at a number of colleges and universities, in the United States and abroad. He is the author of numerous books, including Superpariotism, The Assassination of Julius Caesar, and Inventing Reality.
