 | Poor Richard''s Principle: Recovering the American Dream through the Moral Dimension of Work, Business, and Money Subjects: United States -- Moral conditions; Work -- Moral and ethical aspects -- United States; Money -- Moral and ethical aspects -- United States; Business ethics -- United States; Social values -- United States; Work and family -- United States; Readers of this heavy tome could be forgiven for echoing H.L. Mencken's classic riposte: "Down With Uplift." Wuthnow has paraded an extensive series of case histories chronicling all the strains of our timesfamily breakdown, disaffected children, financial insecurity, unhappiness in the workplace and much more. The author's credentials are impressive: director of the study of American religion at Princeton university. However, the bromides he offers to address these problems are a vague mixture of spiritualism and moral regeneration. Wuthnow has drawn heavily on the thoughts of Benjamin Franklin, including a portion of the title from his most famous work. Which is ironic for a work on morality, as Franklin was a well-known reprobate in his day. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved Robert Wuthnow is the Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for the Study of American Religion at Princeton University. He is the author of numerous articles and books on American religion and culture, including Acts of Compassion (Princeton) and Learning to Care: Elementary Kindness in an Age of Indifference . |
