Lecture - Barbara Ehrenreich, 'Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Undermines Us All' (12 January 2010) Bristol Festival of Ideas Audio RSS feed
-
- Philosophy
The 'New York Times' calls Barbara Ehrenreich “our premier reporter of the underside of Capitalism”. Recent books have seen her go undercover to find a job in America’s corporate sector and work in low-wage America, busting the myth of the American dream. She now looks at positive thinking – formerly a marginal 19th century healing technique, which is now seen as the key to success and prosperity.
Ehrenreich exposes the downside of the science of happiness which leads to self-blame, a morbid preoccupation with stamping out ‘negative’ thoughts and, on a national level, created an era of irrational optimism. Ehrenreich attacks conventional wisdom and faux science, and calls for clarity and courage.
This podcast is 27 minutes long (50MB). If you would like to hear more lectures from the 2010 Festival, please visit our website at: www.ideasfestival.co.uk.
The 'New York Times' calls Barbara Ehrenreich “our premier reporter of the underside of Capitalism”. Recent books have seen her go undercover to find a job in America’s corporate sector and work in low-wage America, busting the myth of the American dream. She now looks at positive thinking – formerly a marginal 19th century healing technique, which is now seen as the key to success and prosperity.
Ehrenreich exposes the downside of the science of happiness which leads to self-blame, a morbid preoccupation with stamping out ‘negative’ thoughts and, on a national level, created an era of irrational optimism. Ehrenreich attacks conventional wisdom and faux science, and calls for clarity and courage.
This podcast is 27 minutes long (50MB). If you would like to hear more lectures from the 2010 Festival, please visit our website at: www.ideasfestival.co.uk.