America: The Farewell Tour Hardcover – August 21, 2018

Throughout history, all great civilizations have ultimately decayed. And America will not be an exception, according to former journalist and war correspondent, Chris Hedges. And while Hedges doesn’t offer a date, he maintains we are in the final throes of implosion—and it won’t be pretty.The book is thoroughly researched and the author knows his history. And despite some of the reviews it is not so much a political treatise as it is an exploration of the American underbelly—drugs, suicide, sadism, hate, gambling, etc. And it’s pretty dark; although he supports the picture he paints with ample statistics and first person accounts.There is politics, but the politics provides the context for the decay. And it’s not as one-dimensional as other reviewers seemed to perceive. Yes, he is no fan of Trump or the Republican leadership. But he is no fan of the Democratic shift to identity politics, or antifa, either.One reviewer thought he was undermining Christianity but I didn’t get that. He does not support “prosperity gospel” theology, but I didn’t see any attempt to undermine fundamental religious doctrine. He is, after all, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School and an ordained Presbyterian minister.He puts the bulk of the blame for the current state of decay, in fact, where few other writers do—squarely on the back of capitalist America and the super-companies who now dominate nearly every industry. The social and political division we are now witnessing, in other words, has been orchestrated by the capital class; the class of investors, banks, and hedge fund managers who don’t create value so much as they transfer it to themselves from others with less power. And I think he’s spot on right.We have seen a complete merger of corporate and political America. Politicians on both sides of the aisle serve at the pleasure of the capitalist elite because they need their money to stay in power. Corporations enjoy all the rights of citizenship save voting, but who needs to actually cast a ballot when you can buy the election.And what the corpocracy, as I call it, is doing with all that power is continuing to reshuffle the deck of economic opportunity to insure that wealth and income continue to polarize. It’s a process they undertake in the name of tax cuts for the middle class (which aren’t), deregulation (which hurts society as a whole), and the outright transfer of wealth and property (including millions of acres of taxpayer-owned land) from taxpayers to shareholders (the 1%).I know because I was part of it. As a former CEO and member of four corporate boards I had a front row seat from the 1970s on. The simplest analogy is that the gamblers rose up and took control of the casinos and the government had their backs in a kind of quid pro quo, all having to do with money.They made it stick because they turned corporate management into the ultimate capitalists. The people who used to manage companies and employees are now laser focused on managing the companies’ stock price and enhancing their own wealth. Corporate executives, in a word, became capitalists, not businessmen and women, giving the foxes unfettered control of the hen house.They got to that position through a combination of greed—both corporate management’s and that of shareholder activists—but were enabled and empowered by Washington. Beginning in the 1970s the Justice Department antitrust division, the Labor Department, the EPA, and other institutions assigned the responsibility to avoid the concentration of power that Adam Smith warned us about, and to protect labor and the environment, were all gutted and stripped of power.They blamed it on globalism, but that was the result, not the cause. Gone are the days of any corporate sense of responsibility to the employees, the collective good, or the communities in which they operate and whose many services they enjoy. It is the corporate and financial elite, and they are now one and the same, who have defined the “me” world in which we now live.And the process continues: “The ruling corporate kleptocrats are political arsonists. They are carting cans of gasoline into government agencies, the courts, the White House, and Congress to burn down any structure or program that promotes the common good.” And he’s right. And Trump is carrying those cans.Ironically, Trump’s base, who have been most marginalized by the corpocracy, are the ones who put him there to continue the gutting. But Hedges has an explanation for that. “In short, when you are marginalized and rejected by society, life often has little meaning. There arises a yearning among the disempowered to become as omnipotent as the gods. The impossibility of omnipotence leads…to its dark alternative—destroying like the gods.” (Reference to Ernest Becker’s The Denial of Death.)The economic history and understanding of economic theory here is rich and detailed. Capitalism, as Marx and others pointed out, creates great wealth in the beginning but is doomed to failure due to its inability to continue to find sources of growth and to manage inequities in wealth creation. And you don’t have to be a socialist to see that this is true. Capitalism must be managed. And our government is currently making no attempt to do so. It is, in fact, dynamiting the institutions responsible for doing so.All told, this is a very good book. If you don’t like reading about underbellies (I found the chapter devoted to sadism personally unsettling, being the father of two daughters.) you will find some of it pretty dark. Having said that, however, the writing is very good and Hedges never wallows in the darkness. He’s clearly not selling the underbelly; he’s trying to give it definition.I did think that some of the chapters might have been broken down into different sub-chapters and there is a lack of continuity in some places. All told, however, I do recommend the book. There is no denying the fundamental thesis.The problem is, however, we’re all blaming it on the proverbial ‘other guy.’ Perhaps this book will help us to understand the real culprit—the capitalist collective. “The merging of the self with the capitalist collective has robbed us of our agency, creativity, capacity for self-reflection, and moral autonomy.” True, indeed.

The inimitable Hedges is not only a saint with a penetrating intelligence, but also a man of superior eloquence with the power to pull you into his descriptions of the collapse of western civilization. Hedges says that the new American Capitalism no longer produces products — rather America produces escapist fantasies. I found this paragraph [page 233] particularly relevant. The act of being dedicated to the ‘greater good’ has in itself become dangerous.Chris Hedges: “We do not become autonomous and free human beings by building pathetic, tiny monuments to ourselves. It is through self-sacrifice and humility that we affirm the sanctity of others and the sanctity of ourselves. Those who fight against cultural malice … have discovered that life is measured by infinitesimal and often unacknowledged acts of solidarity and kindness. These acts of kindness … spin outward to connect our atomized and alienated souls to others. The good … draws to it the good. This belief — held although we may never see empirical proof — is profoundly transformative. But know this: when these acts are carried out on behalf of the oppressed and the demonized, when compassion defines the core of our lives, when we understand that justice is a manifestation of love, we are marginalized and condemned by our sociopathic elites.”

If you've never read Hedges - get it now. If you've read him before - there's nothing new here.Chris Hedges is a writer who has a knack for seeing the big picture and connecting the dots. A chronic pessimist in the best sense, a bitter prophet warning us of the last days of the decaying empire, his page-turning prose carving through the morass of today's mania and derangement. For that, he's in the company somewhere between Cornel West and Morris Berman (the later, whose book Why America Failed, is better than this. If you're familiar with Hedges, but not Morris Berman, go find Berman instead).I give this three stars only because there isn't much new here if you're familiar with his material. I felt this book to be an update of Empire of Illusion, punched up by old articles from his weekly column at Truthdig. Aside from the introductory chapter, he revisits themes of sadism, the decline of literacy, of labor, of democratic institutions, and so on, which are too familiar. The pages and pages detailing the BDSM craze I felt were excessive in their prurient voyeurism which journalistic approaches can fall into. Not saying he's wrong at all, but this tone could put off some readers, erring on excessive preacherly seminarian virtue signaling as he points out the sins of the world and shouts - "Look! Look at what we've done!"

Heartbreaking to read but so true. In our “truth is not truth” era Mr. Hedges once again writes the sad and shocking obituary for American Democracy and sounds the prophetic alarm to those revelers while Rome burns. All empires come and go but I never thought I’d be a witness to one. Something sick and traitorous has infected the soul of America and I fear it’s going to be some demented combination of the worst elements in 1984 and Brave Bew World. The most important work currently published but will anyone listen? Will anything change?

The author is honest and intelligent.When you take a detailed look at reality it can seem harsh.Don't shoot the messenger who has brought bad news. We need to know the truth.Read, listen, learn. Engage in positive actions to improve the situation.Chris has given us a wake-up call.

Once upon a time America held out the hope to all the world and not just to all who have found refuge on its shores. It was a land of hope, peace, and a beacon of democracy. Although it had wrestled with slavery and racial and gender discrimination, it appears to be overcoming the sins of its past. What is happening throughout America today is the complete opposite of the illusion of America the Great. What is happening indeed? Hedges takes us through all the ills besetting the country today. He does it by examining the microcosm of individual lives caught in the worst of America. He begins with the decline of the City of Scranton, home of the playwright Jason Miller, and how the ‘Electric City’, as it is known, had its population shrank from 140,000 to 77,000 in 80 years. He peers into the massive problem of opioid addiction through the addiction of 23-year-old Shannon Miller from the beginning of her addiction, through the valiant efforts of her family and herself to overcome the curse of heroin, to – her death. Hedges then introduces us to various hardworking people who believed in the old school loyalty to their company, yet, after decades at the same job, find themselves laid off. No union to fight for them. No job to keep. The story of Denny Chaser is one of them. The most poignant stories, told in excruciating and lurid detail that some readers may think is unnecessary (but I think it is a crucial part of his narrative – how else to tell the story as it is?), are the stories of Pagano and Rachel Moran, two young women caught in the vice trade. We learn a lot about the vice trade from these stories as we do about the drug trade from Shannon’s. Hedges then examines how hate has transformed American lives. He thinks that the White Supremacists and Neo-Nazis are harming the nation, but he also believes that the counter force – such as the antifa (Anti-Fascist) share the same blame. He explains that the many who joined the White Supremacists are much like their counterparts on the left – people who have been passed over, people who find that no matter how hard they work, they will not the break they need (and promised – the American Dream). Hedges believes and makes a case against the real culprit – the corporate capitalist elite. That, Hedges claims, is the true common enemy.The Big Corporation is also the enemy that has created 900 casinos in America, earning more than $37 billion annually; and destroying the lives of those addicted to gambling. Hedges uses the story of ‘Ahmed’ to illustrate the havoc casinos cause to the individual. ‘There is no lobby at the casino…this was by design. Casinos are open twenty-four hours a day. Once inside, the owners do not want reminders of the world outside. The odds over time always favour the casino. The more you gamble the more you lose…A casino is as enticing as it is ruthless. The moment your money is gone you are worthless. The smiles, the gifts, the attention, the harem girls with the drinks, and the free rooms vanish. You disappear down the rabbit hole and another sucker walks through the door to take your place.’ Americans lost almost $117 billion to gambling in 2016 alone. (Hedges refers to Natasha Dow Schull’s book but mistakenly named it as ‘Addicted by Design’; strangely, the CD version of this book got it right. The book’s name is ‘Addiction by Design’). Hedges tries to raise hope in his final chapters. In the chapter on ‘Freedom’, he introduces us to the small community started by Sybilla and Josh Medlin in the poor part of Anderson, Arizona. He quotes Josh Medlin: ‘We are an intentional community. This means we are a group of people who have chosen to live together to repurpose an old building, to offer to a neighbourhood and a city a place to express its creative gifts. This is an alternative model to a culture that focusses on accumulating as much money as possible and on an economic structure based on competition and taking advantage of others. We value manual labor. We value nonviolence as a tactic for resistance. We value simplicity. We believe people are not commodities. We share what we have. We are not about accumulating for ourselves. These values help us to become whole people.’ The same stoic heroism is shown in the fight by the Native American Indians and their Red Power movement against the big corporations’ intrusion into Indian territory, reserved and preserved (a bit strange considering that the Indians were the natives of America) for them, just to carry out fracking and cheap coal and oil. In the process, they drained underground water – permanently, and introduce poison like mercury into the lakes and rivers. The message from the top to those trapped at the bottom is, ‘You are a failure’. They had hooked the masses into thinking that if they work hard, they can become Zuckerbergs. When in the end, they do not, they remain ‘failures’. And as Hedges says, ‘The power elites attempt to discredit those who resist…Power is a poison. It does not matter who wields it. The rebel, for this reason, is an eternal heretic. He or she will never fit into any system. The rebel stands with the powerless’.

This book is superb yet not an easy read, indeed it makes very uncomfortable reading for what Hedges is describing in the USA is happening here in Britain too. Read and prepared to get angry, very angry with the grotesque venal politicians and the corporations that jerk their strings. It could never happen here, could it........

I'd come across Chris Hedges via the podcasts of Jeremy Scahill (Dirty Wars, Drone Complex, Intercepted et al.) And was intrigued by his clear and uncompromising approach to the underlying problems currently paralyzing America. This book investigates, by useful headings, the reasons for the populist backlash against what is viewed as the theft of people's rights and well-being by those who identify as the 1 per cent. First thing to note is that Hedges is a socialist. He speaks from this perspective throughout and whilst counter- narrative appears in places it is normally there to justify the point being made. To my mind this does not detract from the central message of the book but, in reality, strengthens the underlying message which is relentless ... working people have been the victims of unfettered greed and corruption for so long that they now blindly accept the situation that they find themselves in.A compelling, clearly written and, at times, harrowing narrative about the current state of the US. Richly sourced and evidenced in a readable and easily accessible style that belies the journalistic origins of Hedges fame this should be required reading for anybody who believes capitalism is the answer to our shared future. An excellent book.

The author is a bit of a lefty Christian which is unusual for America where their Christians are usually far right as he admits. The early pages of the book give too much respect to Marxism which has hardly been success to mankind. However it goes into detail about a society collapsing into corporate domination and right wing control and the increasing lack of real freedoms in the USA along with a moral collapse. However i cant help thinking he has focussed on the extremes of the usa and not the mainstream - hasnt America always been a little extreme in many ways? It's interesting to note that right wing Christians, left wing Christians and socialists are united in believing the usa is headed for some kind of collapse or destruction!

Another insightful work by Chris Hedges that should be read by all who care about the current state of western societies. Often brutal, stark and shocking, this work lifts the lid on the decline of a country and on industries that commodify human beings. He outlines how this decline and those industries have been turbo-charged by the west's dominant economic model, and by doing so he sheds much needed light on the root cause of America's malaise and its lurch to the alt-right and to Trump.Voices like Chris's should be heard and listened to as a counter to the troubling superficiality that has infected public and political discourse in general over the last few decades.