Listen to David in conversation with the journalist and Anglican priest Giles Fraser, examining the four centuries of Western thought — from Machiavelli to Madison — which led to the pursuit of success as the ultimate goal in today’s society.
There is a huge amount to enjoy and admire in the detailed argument of the book
Lincoln Allison (emeritus reader in politics at the University of Warwick) mulls the consequences of a cultural shift from traditional morality to reason in this Book of the Week review for Times Higher Education.
Gripping…the book has a fascinating story to tell
The Enlightenment spawned a series of assumptions about what human beings are, why they do what they do, and what the good life looks like. We’re still hostage to those assumptions, whether we know it or not, and Wootton’s book asks us to consider the consequences. I spoke with him recently about why he thinks the Enlightenment produced a civilization obsessed with consumption and self-gratification“.
Appetite is limitless and everyone is its victim
“Wootton’s notion of modest, practical Aristoteilian-esque virtue in the face of limitless appetite is a compelling one, and he stakes his claims methodically and persuasively“. Nicholas Cannariato reviews Power, Pleasure, and Profit for online literary magazine, The Millions.
David’s article “What’s Wrong With Liberalism“ is one of History Today’s best articles of 2018.
Just so full of ideas… always stimulating
“Power, Pleasure and Profit is by far the most challenging book on my list. David Wootton is one of the best intellectual historians we’ve got.” Paul Lay (History Today) gives his Five Books recommendations for the best History books of 2018.
Wootton’s erudition is impressive and his range of inquiry is vast
“David Wootton gives us an Enlightenment that initiated the unlimited pursuit of power, pleasure and profit. It is the perfect Enlightenment for the age of Trump. Not that Wootton himself would celebrate it as such. His own view of it is somewhat mixed. And yet he is clear about its consequences. What he describes as ‘the Enlightenment paradigm’ ushered in a new type of civilisation, leading to ‘the triumph of the idea that power, pleasure and profit are goods to be pursued without end and without limit’. In this new world, ‘virtue, honor, shame and guilt counted for almost nothing; all that mattered was success.'”
Darrin M. McMahon reviews Power, Pleasure, and Profit for Literary Review.
The World in Time Podcast (Lapham’s Quarterly)
David talks with Lewis H. Lapham talk about Hobbes, Machiavelli, the Enlightenment, and the “pursuit of happiness.”
Wootton’s vividly written narrative never loses momentum
“Wootton presents the conceptual shift that gave birth to our life today in a book that is ambitious and impressive in its sweep.” John Gray reviews Power, Pleasure, and Profit for The New Statesman.
The Enlightenment We Need
“Wootton’s Enlightenment ushered in a moral universe of unstoppable excess—one in which the pursuit of power, pleasure, and profit had no limit, for individuals or for societies… The chapters themselves are subtle and often witty explorations of Enlightenment texts“. James Cappel reviews Power, Pleasure, and Profit for Commonweal Magazine.