America: The Farewell Tour

America, says Pulitzer Prize­–winning reporter Chris Hedges, is convulsed by an array of pathologies that have arisen out of profound hopelessness, a bitter despair, and a civil society that has ceased to function. The opioid crisis; the retreat into gambling to cope with economic distress; the pornification of culture; the rise of magical thinking; the celebration of sadism, hate, and plagues of suicides are the physical manifestations of a society that is being ravaged by corporate pillage and a failed democracy. As our society unravels, we also face global upheaval caused by catastrophic climate change. All these ills presage a frightening reconfiguration of the nation and the planet. Donald Trump rode this disenchantment to power. In his “forceful and direct” ( ) , Hedges argues that neither political party, now captured by corporate power, addresses the systemic problem. Until our corporate is reversed these diseases will grow and ravage the country. “With sharply observed detail, Hedges writes a requiem for the American dream” ( ) and seeks to jolt us out of our complacency while there is still time.