/THE FALL OF PUBLIC MAN by RICHARD SENNETTHN 1? AUS Ga HOB S8S1OX be FIST VINTAGE BOOKS EDITION Jury 1978 prio 1 by Retr Sat ‘Apter unde ner snd Pa nr ‘Copyrit Coonan Pub nthe Und Stes by Ras Howie New Yor td sal {sono in Camda by Ran Hoe fC Lin ‘ed Tees, Oral pled by Aled 8 Rao, (Rew ors Hadon Honey 108 rary f Congres atkgng a Pubenton Dat Sennett, ard, 194 The al of pie an, 2 Soc uy 2 Comm Me 8S in a re BNisses tT "300" 70 AN D0 720.8 Manne nthe Usted State of Aerio, en Serr for erh.CHAPTER 1 THE END OF PUBLIC CULTURE J One way to picture the pats through images ofthe rte and flo rized way of life. These images naturally produce a snse of regret, ane regret is dangerous sentiment. While it produces empathy for the ‘ist, and so a certain insight, regret induces resignation about the | resent, and so a certain acoeptance ofits evils. T have not asembloc this picture of the riso and fall of secular public elture in order te Drodiuce regret Ihave asembled i to crete a perspective on beliefs aspirations and myths of modern if which seem to be humane but are in fact dangerous ‘The reigning belief today i that closeness between persons is ‘moral good. The reigning aspiration today sto develop individual per "Lsonality through experiences of closeness and warmth with others. The ‘eigning myth today f thatthe evils of society can all be understood evils ofimpersonality, alienation, and coldness. The sum of theve three (§ ‘ideology of intimacy: social relatonshipe ofall kinds are real bblievable, and authentic the closer they approach the inner poyeholog. ical concerns of each person. This ideology transmutes polite catego. ies into psychological categories. This deology of intimacy defines the Fhumaniarian sprit of a society without gods warmth is our god. The history of the rise and fall of public eultire at the. very least ell this ‘humanitarian spit into question, (ge Theybelie in closeness between persons as a moral good is tn Fat the produet of a profound dislocation which capitalism and socal belief produced inthe last century. Because ofthis dslocation, people sought to find personal meanings in impersonal situations, in dojorts and in the objective conditions of sociaty self. They could not find ‘hese meanings; asthe world beeame peychomorphie,itbeeare myst. fying, They therefore sought to flo, and find in the private realms of life, especially nthe family, some principle of order inthe perception of personality. Thus the past bull hidden desire for stability in the 29