Christopher Lasch, then professor of History at Northwestern, discusses his book "The New Radicalism in America 1893-1963." In this book Lasch traces the development of the "public intellectual" in American politics. Ostensibly motivated by a concern for the poor and the common man, these intellectuals presage the managerial revolution of the mid-20th century.
Some of the intellectuals discussed in this interview:
Jane Addams -- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Ad...
Henry James -- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_J...
and his brother William James -- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...
Randolph Bourne -- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randolp...
Mabel Dodge Luhan - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabel_D...
D.H. Lawrence -- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._H._L...
Lincoln Steffens -- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln...
I previously uploaded a discussion between Lasch and Terkel on education-- • Christopher Lasch on E...
Hear Lasch lecture on his most famous book, "The Culture of Narcissism" - • Christopher Lasch - Th...
From Wikipedia:
Robert Christopher Lasch (June 1, 1932 - February 14, 1994) was an American historian, moralist and social critic who was a history professor at the University of Rochester. He sought to use history to demonstrate what he saw as the pervasiveness with which major institutions, public and private, were eroding the competence and independence of families and communities. Lasch strove to create a historically informed social criticism that could teach Americans how to deal with rampant consumerism, proletarianization, and what he famously labeled "the culture of narcissism".
His books, including The New Radicalism in America (1965), Haven in a Heartless World (1977), The Culture of Narcissism (1979), The True and Only Heaven (1991), and The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy (published posthumously in 1996) were widely discussed and reviewed.