The Crisis of the Officer Class: The Decline of the Tragic Sensibility

Sacred Order/Social Order #2

by Philip Rieff, Alan Woolfolk (Introduction), Kenneth S. Piver (Editor)

Philip Rieff earned recognition as one of the most profound social theorists of culture and authority of the twentieth century. Through such works as Freud: The Mind of the Moralist and The Triumph of the Therapeutic, he proved himself an incisive interpreter of Freud and his legacy. His work now culminates with the long-awaited trilogy, Sacred Order/Social Order, a three-volume work on social theory and contemporary culture.

In Volume 2, The Crisis of the Officer Class: The Death of the Tragic Sensibility, Phillip Rieff continues his assault against the deathworks of our modern age. Invoking his theory developed in Volume 1, he develops his critique of our current culture as distinguishable only by its rejection of any and all visions of sacred order.

Genres: Religion, Sociology, Philosophy

224 pages, Hardcover

First published December 21, 2007

Reviews

[Avery · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a rare instance where I am giving a book an extra star simply because I agree with the author. Unfortunately I cannot recommend this book to anyone. I rarely found in it any new insight that cannot be obtained elsewhere, and what it does say is so poorly worded that it is not worth quoting to others. It is not really a book and does not have a structure. Most of Rieff's books are dense and heady, but this collection of unstructured thoughts is simply meandering and vague. Instead of reading this, I recommend the following reads for the various topics Rieff covers here:

- Instead of reading Rieff's commentary on Shakespeare, Kafka, and Don Quixote, read Shakespeare, Kafka, and Don Quixote, perhaps with an added dose of Oswald Spengler to start you off thinking about late Western culture.

- Instead of reading Rieff's commentary on the culture wars, read back issues of the ecumenical journal First Things. Instead of reading Rieff's opinion on homosexualism, read the article "Against Heterosexuality" in First Things.

- Instead of reading Rieff's rather shoddy attempt to define what he means by "second culture" and "third culture" in this book, read "My Life Among the Deathworks" which puts forward his thesis with more clarity and insight.

[Vagabond of Letters, DLitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.5/10

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it a little less oblique/more accessible than the first volume, 'My Life Among the Deathworks.' Maybe this is because I'm gradually becoming more accustomed to his writing style, or maybe it was a little more direct in presentation. A little of both? Either way, I will need to read this series multiple times to really grasp what Rieff is getting at, as for the time being I'm getting a piece here and there instead of a full appreciation of his theory.