Overview

A powerful and original argument that traces the roots of our present crisis of authority to an unlikely source: the meritocracy. Over the past decade, Americans watched in bafflement and rage as one institution after another - from Wall Street to Congress, the Catholic Church to corporate America, even Major League Baseball - imploded under the weight of corruption and incompetence. In the wake of the Fail Decade, Americans have historically low levels of trust in their institutions; the social contract between ordinary citizens and elites lies in tatters. How did we get here? With Twilight of the Elites, Christopher Hayes offers a radically novel answer. Since the 1960s, as the meritocracy elevated a more diverse group of men and women into power, they learned to embrace the accelerating inequality that had placed them near the very top. Their ascension heightened social distance and spawned a new American elite--one more prone to failure and corruption than any that came before it. Mixing deft political analysis, timely social commentary, and deep historical understanding, Twilight of the Elites describes how the society we have come to inhabit - utterly forgiving at the top and relentlessly punitive at the bottom - produces leaders who are out of touch with the people they have been trusted to govern. Hayes argues that the public's failure to trust the federal government, corporate America, and the media has led to a crisis of authority that threatens to engulf not just our politics but our day-to-day lives. Upending well-worn ideological and partisan categories, Hayes entirely reorients our perspective on our times. Twilight of the Elites is the defining work of social criticism for the post-bailout age.

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9780449010082

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Reviews

Excellent - Rolling Stone<br> <br> In a very good new book titled Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy, Chris Hayes offers one of the most compelling assessments of how soaring inequality is changing American society. - The Economist.com <br> Let's just say that if you like politics and big ideas, you want to buy this book. It's a lot more intellectually ambitious than your typical pundit book and offers a really great blend of writing chops and social theory synthesis. <br>- Matthew Yglesias, Slate.com <br> In his new book, The Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy, Chris Hayes manages the impossible trifecta: the book is compellingly readable, impossibly erudite, and--most stunningly of all--correct. - Aaron Swartz, Crookedtimber.org <br> Engrossing....thoughtful critiques of what's gone wrong with America's ruling class. - The Atlantic.com <br> I was myself very impressed by the level of execution in this book. <br>- Tyler Cowen, Marginalrevolution.com <br> Hayes's book makes for a great read.... Twilight uses a wide variety of academic and journalistic work, balancing a deep, systemic critique of society with detailed and empathetic reporting about those most affected by elite failure. <br>- Mike Konczal, Dissent<br> <br> A potent articulation of a society's free-floating angst, Twilight of the Elites stakes its claim as the jeremiad by which these days will be remembered. <br>- Washington Monthly.com <br> I read Chris Hayes' Twilight of the Elites last month and will suggest that you read it too - it's an engaging read that addresses the question of whether a meritocratic elite can really stay meritocratic over extended periods of time. - Daniel W. Drezner, Foreign Policy.com <br> This was a book I found so stimulating and immersive that I cannot wait to be able to discuss it with a larger audience....Even if you think you are aware of the depth of the rot plaguing the highest levels of our society

Excellent - Rolling Stone In a very good new book titled Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy, Chris Hayes offers one of the most compelling assessments of how soaring inequality is changing American society. - The Economist.com Let's just say that if you like politics and big ideas, you want to buy this book. It's a lot more intellectually ambitious than your typical pundit book and offers a really great blend of writing chops and social theory synthesis. - Matthew Yglesias, Slate.com In his new book, The Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy, Chris Hayes manages the impossible trifecta: the book is compellingly readable, impossibly erudite, and--most stunningly of all--correct. - Aaron Swartz, Crookedtimber.org Engrossing....thoughtful critiques of what's gone wrong with America's ruling class. - The Atlantic.com I was myself very impressed by the level of execution in this book. - Tyler Cowen, Marginalrevolution.com Hayes's book makes for a great read.... Twilight uses a wide variety of academic and journalistic work, balancing a deep, systemic critique of society with detailed and empathetic reporting about those most affected by elite failure. - Mike Konczal, Dissent A potent articulation of a society's free-floating angst, Twilight of the Elites stakes its claim as the jeremiad by which these days will be remembered. - Washington Monthly.com I read Chris Hayes' Twilight of the Elites last month and will suggest that you read it too - it's an engaging read that addresses the question of whether a meritocratic elite can really stay meritocratic over extended periods of time. - Daniel W. Drezner, Foreign Policy.com This was a book I found so stimulating and immersive that I cannot wait to be able to discuss it with a larger audience....Even if you think you are aware of the depth of the rot plaguing the highest levels of our society

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