Christopher Lasch Biography

Christopher Lasch was an American historian and social critic who used history to expose how institutions were eroding the independence of families and communities. He strove for a historically informed social criticism to teach Americans how to grapple with consumerism and the 'culture of narcissism.' His writings, which analyzed the discontents of liberalism and explored the decline of American culture, sparked widespread discussion. He eventually explored how a faith in 'Progress' hindered Americans from understanding his arguments, drawing lessons from suppressed Populist and artisan movements of the past.