Destructive generation

Author: Peter Collier, David Horowitz
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: This book has been reprinted three times in the United States and is one of the influential books on President George W. Bush's philosophical thinking. The two authors of this book were once leaders of the radical movement in the 1960s. Over time, they began to reflect on the tragedies caused by the reckless hedonism, destructive "revolutionary" fervor, the "New Left," and the "anticultural" movement of their youth. This book is regarded as a classic of conservatism by Republicans in the United States and is one of the main sources that helped President Bush form his "compassionate conservatism" philosophy. Peter Collier and David Horowitz's Destructive Generation: Second Thoughts about the Sixties (1989, first edition, reprinted three times) is one of the influential books on President Bush's philosophical thinking. The two authors of this book were once leaders of the radical movement in the 1960s. Over time, they began to reflect on the tragedies caused by the reckless hedonism, destructive "revolutionary" fervor, the "New Left," and the "anticultural" movement of their youth. This book is regarded as a classic of conservatism by Republicans in the United States and is one of the main reference books that helped President Bush form his "compassionate conservatism" philosophy. The youth of the 1960s indulged in parties, alcohol, and drugs, generally wanting to break free from responsibility and moral constraints; the "New Left" attacked the existing "system," trying to destroy the center of authority; radicals claimed to "change the world through assassination," wanting revolution but, due to their lack of planning, fell into anarchy, with crime and pathology becoming the defining traits of the era. After the 1960s, American society became fragmented. If there was any shared belief, it was a consensus that "America was sinful," which was the lasting aftereffect left by the 1960s.