Age of Anger: A History of the Present

《經濟學人》譽為「薩依德的繼承者」 《外交政策》評為「全球百大思想家」《從帝國廢墟中崛起》作者潘卡吉．米什拉全面解析憤怒的時代！剖析分裂的現代世界潛藏於當今國際危機的歷史充斥於現代世界、無所不見的仇恨浪潮，從ISIS的崛起、英國脫歐、到川普當選美國總統，從民族主義、仇視排外、種族歧視、性別歧視、妄想偏執，這股襲捲全球的右翼崛起，究竟從何而來？作者爬梳歷史，並援引古今哲理思想，解析分裂的現代世界。由西方所支配的舊秩序逐漸崩解，隨之而來的是全球動亂；當權威與正統性受到挑戰，威權主義與沙文主義取而代之。一旦無法享有現代所承諾的理想：自由、穩定與繁榮，被時代的巨輪留在後方的邊緣人物，往往會受到煽動人心的政客所影響，發展對於對於弱勢族群如移民、少數民族等他者的敵意，想像不存在的黃金時代，並以暴力達成自我權力的提升。本書爬梳歷史，援引古今哲理思想，以深厚的歷史、社會與哲學知識，試圖剖析並理解我們所處的憤怒時代。The kind of vision the world needs right now...Pankaj Mishra shouldn't stop thinking' Christopher de Bellaigue, Financial Times'This is the most astonishing, convincing, and disturbing book I've read in years' Joe Sacco'Urgent, profound and extraordinarily timely' John BanvilleHow can we explain the origins of the great wave of paranoid hatreds that seem inescapable in our close-knit world - from American 'shooters' and ISIS to Trump, from a rise in vengeful nationalism across the world to racism and misogyny on social media? In Age of Anger, Pankaj Mishra answers our bewilderment by casting his gaze back to the eighteenth century, before leading us to the present.He shows that as the world became modern those who were unable to fulfil its promises - freedom, stability and prosperity - were increasingly susceptible to demagogues. The many who came late to this new world or were left, or pushed, behind, reacted in horrifyingly similar ways: intense hatred of invented enemies, attempts to re-create an imaginary golden age, and self-empowerment through spectacular violence. It was from among the ranks of the disaffected that the militants of the 19th century arose - angry young men who became cultural nationalists in Germany, messianic revolutionaries in Russia, bellicose chauvinists in Italy, and anarchist terrorists internationally.Today, just as then, the wider embrace of mass politics, technology, and the pursuit of wealth and individualism has cast many more millions adrift in a literally demoralized world, uprooted from tradition but still far from modernity - with the same terrible resultsMaking startling connections and comparisons, Age of Anger is a book of immense urgency and profound argument. It is a history of our present predicament unlike any other.