Alienation and the Carnivalization of Society

This book examines alienation from both a sociological and psychoanalytic perspective, revisiting classic treatments of the topic (Marx, Simmel, Weber) and exploring its relevance to understanding post-modern consumer society. It examines the escapist potentials for good and for ill in modern society - those fostered by commercial interests, and those maintained by individuals and groups as their form of resisting alienation.

Jerome Braun is an independent scholar and author in interdisciplinary social science.
Lauren Langman is Professor of Sociology at Loyola University.

Section 1: Alienation in Modern Mass Society: Its Consequences in Producing Post-Modernity That Is Increasingly Similar to Pre-Modernity 1. The Rise of the Nazis as an Example of Sadistic Carnival Jerome Braun 2. Democracy and the Dilemmas of Nation-Building Jerome Braun 3. The Gap Between the Ideal and the Real in Politics: A Comparative Perspective Jerome Braun 4. The Increasing Similarities Between Post-Modernity and Pre-Modernity Jerome Braun Section 2: The Carnivalization of Society 5. Alienation, Entrapment and Inauthenticity: Carnival to the Rescue Lauren Langman 6. Carnivalization and Freedom: A Shortcut to the Overcoming of Alienation Kathleen Pacyna 7. Theorizing Carnival: Mardi Gras as Perceived, Conceived, and Lived Space Kevin Fox Gotham 8. Authoritarianism and Carnivalization in the 2008 Presidential Election and the Return of Right-Wing Populism George N. Lundskow 9. The Dialectics of Carnival: From Bakhtin to Baudrillard William J. Swart and Dan Krier Section 3: Conclusion Conclusion Shlomo Shoham