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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page analysis of Charles Derber's book, The Wilding of America. 'Wilding' is defined by Derber as an epidemic of self-centeredness, competitiveness, and greed that has effects on urban and suburban environments as well as corporate boardrooms and even Congress. Derber shows how this is corrupting the nation's character and his conclusions are discussed. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_90wild.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
Congress. Derber who is a professor of sociology at Boston College defines "wilding" as a "degenerate form of individualism" (1996, p. 9). It is reflective of a lack of
empathy, conscience or compassion and is characterized by a desire to pursue self-gratification and success at all costs. Derber (1996) further refines his definition of "wilding" by saying that while
it is individualistic behavior, it includes only individualistic behavior that "advances or indulges the self by hurting others" (p. 10). The instances that he gives of "wilding" in American
society are diverse and cover basically all socioeconomic levels. He begins by discussing the incident from several years ago where a young female jogger was accosted by teenage thrill-seekers in
Central Park, beaten and left for dead. However, this example makes it all too easy to see wilding as a problem with minority youth. He also points out that the
crimes of Charles Stuart (killing his pregnant wife) and Susan Smith (murdering her young sons) are also examples of wilding. These last two examples bring in another aspect of
wilding, which is when the incentive to grab what the individual feels is that "rightful" share of the American Dream enters into the picture, and this becomes a motivation that
people pursue over and above everything else. Derber asserts that we distance ourselves from sensational instances of wilding?such as Stuart and Smith?when society labels such perpetrators as being
sociolpaths. Derber feels that we live in a sociopathic culture, in which less severe forms of wilding have come to be accepted as normal. "The progress of the wilding epidemic
is shaped less by the percentage of sociopaths than by the sociopathy of its elites and the rules of the success game they help to define" (Derber, 1996, p. 12).
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