Snobbery (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Joseph Epstein
- First Published: 2002
- Type of Work: Sociology
- Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Sociology
- Subjects: United States or Americans, Middle classes, Class consciousness, Jealousy, envy, or resentment, Fame, Aristocracy or aristocrats, Democracy, Materialism, Pretensions
Snobbery is the pornography of ambition—gratification devoid of achievement. As the author of more than a dozen books, including Ambition: Secret Passion (1981), Joseph Epstein, who has established himself as a leading American essayist, knows something about the aspiration to excel. The inspiration for his latest book is a pathology of ambition, the craving for reputation regardless of accomplishment.
Though he acknowledges Europe’s primacy in the cultivation of snobbery, Epstein concentrates on the condition’s peculiarly American manifestations. His witty,...
[The entire page is 1921 words long]
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