The "Better Angels" of Capitalism Rhetoric, Narrative, and Moral Identity Among Men of the American Upper Class - Polemics

What does it mean to be a man of wealth and power? How is the worth of wealth translated into moral worth in the identity of wealthy men? How does this identity comprise a mythical place of masculine desire in the social imagination of the American dream? These are the central themes The Better Angels of Capitalism explores. Beginning with a series of ethnographic interviews of a variety of wealthy American men, Andrew Herman draws upon diverse perspectives to present a coherent exploration of the sociopolitical implications of being wealthy in an economically unequaland increasingly unstablesociety. }What does it mean to be a man of wealth and power? How is the worth of wealth translated into moral worth in the identity of wealthy men? How does this identity comprise a mythical place of masculine desire in the social imagination of the American dream? These are the central themes The Better Angels of Capitalism explores. Beginning with a series of ethnographic interviews of a variety of wealthy American men, Andrew Herman roots his discussion in the concerns of interpretive sociology of class and culture.;However, he draws upon diverse perspectives within the humanities and social sciences, including history, political and social philosophy, feminist theory, rhetorical studies, cultural anthropology, and literary criticism, to present a coherent exploration of the sociopolitical implications of being wealthy in an economically unequaland increasingly unstablesociety. }