O fetid mediocracy, utilitarian poetry, literature of underlings, aesthetic prattling, economic vomit, scrofulous products of an exhausted nation, I loathe you with the full power of my soul! You are not gangrene, you are atrophy! You are not the hot, red phlegmon of feverish ears, but a cold, pale-bordered abscess dripping from its source in some deep cavity! - Gustave Flaubert
Mediocracy : The Politics of the Extreme Centre by Alain Deneult, is a book about the idea of the middle ground, and how it may be ruining our systems of education, government, economy and culture. This is not a cut and dry political analysis or a journalistic tirade against the centre - as the title might suggest. Instead, this book is more on why the ideas of professionalization, workflow, productivity, deadline culture, mass media and education reform are all damaging to the quality and competence of ideas that are being generated by society. Deneault sees centrist movements and ideas about finding common ground as damaging in some respects - they disengage people through professionalizing words and phrases, forcing research staff to write x amount of papers per year, rather than encouraging innovative and intelligent content. Politicians seek middle ground in big tent politics while suppressing the reformist sides of their parties, whether right or left. Culture is sanitized around certain ideas that are largely non-controversial, and set people against each other in tit for tat exchanges over ideas that will not change the bigger picture. Art and culture are commoditized to the point where they have little meaning for society in general. Think Shia LeBouf and his "He Will Not Divide Us" installation - the art came more from societies attempt to disrupt this installation, put in place by a wealthy and privileged white male actor. The installation itself, although the meaning is somewhat pure, is a good example of Deneault's thesis - it is vapid and bland, and pushes no boundaries past the mainstream. It is not a challenging concept, and represents the elites overwhelming view on politics in the United States - something (for better or worse) that many lower class Americans do not necessarily share.
This book is interesting, but does not deliver on the titles promise. Deneault's book is more a well educated rant against specific things that he is well versed in (education and the academic system) as well as vapid arguments that are less well researched (Chinese manufacturing, the financial system etc). His arguments in certain categories lack authority due to a lack of sourcing, and come across as an uneducated rant against ideas that the author is not familiar with. This is not always the case. As mentioned, his section on the education sector is illuminating and comes across with authority that comes with familiarity and wisdom. This book is less political, and more a philosophical exploration of the over-professionalization of (western) society, and its seemingly increasing movement toward average, bland, and uninspiring systems of logic, politics, and culture. If this concept is interesting to you, then by all means. This is certainly an innovative and controversial text - it covers ground from intelligentsia (academia and culture), to rants against Chinese manufacturing and big business. The ideas in this book transcend a right/left dynamic, but do approach the level of Populist zeal - something I found fascinating. Would I recommend? The ideas here are certainly interesting, and the concept of the book fairly innovative. I would say yes, although it may be a challenging or controversial to some, it is worth it for the discourse contained.