The Self Awakened: Pragmatism Unbound

I feel like I gained a lot personally from The Self Awakened. On a larger political and economic level, I think its guidelines fall short of its wonderful spiritual and philosophical message. Unger's basic spiritual stance is very compelling: that each person (and each society as a whole) can reach out beyond the assumptions and limits within which we live. I think this is a valuable impetus for understanding the limits of what we can do while stretching those limits. But it has to be taken on faith; it doesn't follow from his arguments. How do we start to make a change that will make us all a bit more free? No one should be surprised by this point of the book (around Chapter 9) that Unger paints in broad strokes. What worries me is that his recommendations are idealistic. They depend on society agreeing to experiments that could overturn some very cushy arrangements that seem comfortable to people with the most control over government policy and business decisions. Historically, these people have proven not only selfish but short-sighted. I think Unger would agree that there's no point to pushing for change that can't be achieved under current social and culture conditions, but I'm afraid that's what he's done. The writing style is thick and the reader has to be prepared for slow and careful reading (along with some redundant passages), but you're rewarded with some breath-taking moments of inspiration and beautiful prose.