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["Thomas A. Beckett" <thomas AT tbeckett.com>]

        To be fair (and having read just one chapter of *Bobos* so far), I
don't think that Brooks is critical of the "Bobo" phenomenon.  He claims
to be a bobo himself and to like some aspects of that lifestyle.  The
book seems to be more of an analysis of the cultural trend and less a
critique.  

        It is easy to criticise folks who drive around in Ford Expeditions
bearing the bumper sticker "Live Simply, So That Others May Simply
Live", but I don't think the Brooks is the one doing it.  

TaB

Michael S Czeiszperger wrote:
> 
> Linda Watson wrote:
> 
> > I've just finished Neal Stephenson's "Cryptonomicron" and am 2/3s of the
> > way through David Brooks's "Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How
> > They Got There." I wish I'd read them in the opposite order, though, since
> > the folks in Cryptonomicron are SO Bobo!
> >
> > So, what are your thoughts on (to quote the Amazon review) "the bourgeois
> > bohemians--'Bobos' --an unlikely blend of mainstream culture and 1960s-era
> > counterculture that, according to David Brooks, represents both America's
> > present and future: 'These Bobos define our age. They are the new
> > establishment. Their hybrid culture is the atmosphere we all breathe. 
> > Their
> > status codes now govern social life.'"
> 
> Although I haven't read these particular books, books like the Brook's 
> "Bobos in Paradise"
> are one of my pet peeves. It is relatively easy to grab a stereotype and 
> make fun of it,
> because for the most part the stereotypes of made up by the authors.  
> Decisions are made
> on an individual basis, not by entire demographic groups, and attempts to 
> identify and
> criticize based on stereotypes are some of the worst examples of human 
> behavior. What's
> the difference between books criticizing Jews for being greedy, or blacks 
> for being
> stupid, or the poor for spending all of their money on beer and cigarettes, 
> and books in
> which everyone who was born in a particular decade or with a certain income 
> range are
> lambasted?
> 
> It is far better to discuss any real issues the author may have, such as 
> distribution of
> wealth, rather than attempting to create even more stereotypes.
> 
> Michael Czeiszperger