According to Potter (coauthor of Nation of Rebels), the cost of modernity's dismantling of traditional frameworks of truth and meaning has forced meaning and authenticity to become individual searches that are private and consumercentric. Potter's lively cultural analysis combines an astute analysis of foundational “antimodernist” thought (in particular Rousseau) with savvy surveys of mass culture to flag the pitfalls and ironies of the modern obsession with authenticity in its every incarnation (authentically punk, spiritual, environmentally conscious) from our jeans to our celebrities. Potter champions a mitigation of modernity's negative, “alienating” effects rather than a rejection of modernity, and his characterizations of antimodernists can be dismissive to the point of oversimplifying a large and varied spectrum of dissent from the status quo. But in redeeming modernity from “primitivists,” apocalyptic doom-mongers, and more subtle critics, the author offers a shrewd and lively discussion peppered with pop culture references and a stimulating reappraisal of the romantic strain in modern life. (Apr.)
Ottawa Citizen politics editor Potter (co-author: Nation of Rebels: How Non-Conformity Drives Our Consumer Society, 2004) argues that the widespread quest for "authenticity" simply exacerbates our discontent with modern life. A journalist with a doctorate in philosophy, the author writes with authority about the ways in which today's men and women seek authenticity, or meaning, in their lives-loft-living, ecotourism, yoga, the slow-food movement, etc. Dissatisfied with a world dominated by the fake, the prepackaged and the artificial, they seek "the honest, the natural, the real, the authentic." But the quest is a hoax, writes Potter. There is no such thing as authenticity, any more than there is an authenticity detector that you could wave at something. Our search for authenticity is a response to the malaise of modernity. Emerging between 1500 and 1800, the worldview of modernity swept away traditional sources of meaning on a tide of secularism, liberalism and the market economy, leaving people with profoundly changed attitudes toward science, religion and personal identity. Potter draws nicely on the writings of Lionel Trilling, on philosophical thought from Rousseau to Diderot and on elements of popular culture from the singer Avril Lavigne to the TV program The Office. He shows how alienation from the ever-changing modern world has prompted several centuries of "rainbow-chasing" after authentic living that is often simply nostalgia for a nonexistent past or disguised status-seeking. For example, the case against suburban living "is little more than lifestyle snobbery disguised as a quest for authenticity." Potter's anecdote-filled book explores such topics as art forgery, plagiarism,organic living, fake memoirs, politics and Oprah Winfrey's "cult of authenticity through therapeutic self-disclosure, of the sort promoted by her frequent guest Dr. Phil." The author's discussions of authenticity as a strategy for marketing "vintage" jeans and other goods and as a way of promoting an undiluted cultural past to tourists are especially rewarding. How to avoid the authenticity hoax? Potter writes that we must pursue forms of individualism that make peace with the modern world, with all its benefits and losses. A provocative meditation on the way we live now.
There are excellent arguments here to steal for the next time some bearded hipster at a party enthuses about brining his own beets or vacationing in an eco-tent.” — Newsweek
“Potter’s broad-ranging survey makes a good case that the authenticist fantasy is deeply embedded in the culture.” — Wall Street Journal
“[Andrew Potter] offers a shrewd and lively discussion peppered with pop culture references and a stimulating reappraisal of the romantic strain in modern life.” — Publishers Weekly
“A totally real, genuine, authentic book about why you shouldn’t believe any of those words. And it’s genuinely good.” — Gregg Easterbrook, author of Sonic Boom
“Unique insights on every page and breathtaking in scope... We’re not quite certain what is authentic but we know what it is not. Andrew Potter helps us sift through the confusion.” — John Zogby, Chairman of Zogby International and author of The Way We'll Be
“The kind of criticism that changes minds.” — Thomas De Zengotita, author of Mediated
“The author writes with authority about the ways in which today’s men and women seek authenticity, or meaning, in their lives … A provocative meditation on the way we live now.” — Kirkus Reviews
“The Authenticity Hoax has the estimable virtue of bringing the profound down to scale while keeping the big picture in hi-def clarity. It’s as lively, funny and easy to read as one would want a book on epidemic spiritual malaise to be.” — Toronto Star
“Potter weaves elements of history, philosophy and pop culture together in a book that will leave an impression even if it doesn’t necessarily show us the path. Is Andrew Potter one of the great thinkers of our age? He may well be: this is great stuff.” — January Magazine
“Potter’s book is very smart.” — National Post
Potter weaves elements of history, philosophy and pop culture together in a book that will leave an impression even if it doesn’t necessarily show us the path. Is Andrew Potter one of the great thinkers of our age? He may well be: this is great stuff.
Unique insights on every page and breathtaking in scope... We’re not quite certain what is authentic but we know what it is not. Andrew Potter helps us sift through the confusion.
The kind of criticism that changes minds.
There are excellent arguments here to steal for the next time some bearded hipster at a party enthuses about brining his own beets or vacationing in an eco-tent.
A totally real, genuine, authentic book about why you shouldn’t believe any of those words. And it’s genuinely good.
The Authenticity Hoax has the estimable virtue of bringing the profound down to scale while keeping the big picture in hi-def clarity. It’s as lively, funny and easy to read as one would want a book on epidemic spiritual malaise to be.
Potter’s broad-ranging survey makes a good case that the authenticist fantasy is deeply embedded in the culture.
Potter’s book is very smart.
Potter’s broad-ranging survey makes a good case that the authenticist fantasy is deeply embedded in the culture.
There are excellent arguments here to steal for the next time some bearded hipster at a party enthuses about brining his own beets or vacationing in an eco-tent.
