OverSuccess: Healing the American Obsession With Wealth, Fame, Power, and Perfection

by Jim Rubens

Why are one in three American adults pervasively dissatisfied with their lives? Why is major depression seven times more likely among those born after 1970 than their grandparents? Why are one in four of us addicted to at least one substance or behavior? Why is America drowning in record personal and public debt? Why did over 100,000 people humiliate themselves this year auditioning for Fox's American Idol ? Why are 80 percent of women unhappy with their bodies? What is it about contemporary America that connects the swelling incidence of depression, behavioral addictions, eating disorders, debt, materialism, sleep deprivation, family breakdown, rudeness, fame fixation, ethical collapse, mistrust, and monstrous acts of personal violence? Drawing from emerging science in several fields and insights about our transformed social lives, Rubens explains how genes, commercial culture, and global hyper-competition have locked tens of millions of Americans into an unwinnable success benchmarks race and unleashed an epidemic of status defeat. OverSuccess shows how and why the resulting social and psychological pathologies are different for baby boomers, men, and women. Offering hope for our future, Rubens outlines 20 ways that individuals, businesses, and voluntary organizations can satisfy the American drive for recognition and personal achievement without the toxic burdens of OverSuccess. These cures range from holding the door for strangers and somatic cell gene therapy, to responsible displays of wealth and building village-scale social and business organizations. Praise for OverSuccess : 'This book can . . . help all of us focus on what matters instead of what glitters. Everyone should read it.' --John de Graaf, co-author, The All-Consuming Epidemic and producer of the PBS series Affluenza and Escape from Affluenza 'Jim Rubens is right--we need many more niches, many more villages, in which to play out the human drama--and to play it out more responsibly, and with a much stronger sense of community. We'll be far happier for it.' --Bill McKibben, author, Deep Economy

Genres: Nonfiction

432 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moderately interesting, but too depessing in the end to finish, especially with all the violence around here in the past couple weeks. The author's theme, to which he clings no matter what wildly divergent topic he is discussing, much as a gibbon would cling to a trapeze as it swings past a bewildering variety of jungles, cityscapes, and speeding freight trains, is that thanks to TV, movies, and especially the internet, we have lost touch with the small communities our ancestors identified with and now measure ourselves against a few superstars like Britney Spears and Michael Jordan, so we feel insignificant, incompetent, and depressed. It's no longer good enough to be the mayor of Lake Wobegon or the best pie-baker or the one with the nicest hair on the block; we all expect to be super-rich and uber-famous, and when we don't measure up, we literally get sick.

The book is stuffed to the gunwales with citations of studies and surveys and so-forth about the effects of television and video-game violence, which I found depressing as hell given the fact that my town's junior high had just been overrun by a bunch of 14-year-old neo-Nazis sending threatening text messages to the other students. I bet half the school plays Grand Theft Auto. The author is (as I am) against censorship in general, but he points out that we ban certain kinds of sexual content because they have a demonstrably bad effect, and he presents some evidence that violent video games also increase violence among players. (He does not make much of the fact that kids who cannot buy M-rated games can get adults to purchase games for them.)

The book could be a lot better. I can sort of see why he had trouble getting it published. For one thing, how about including an index along with those 20 pages of endnotes? And while are offering speculative sci-fi ideas for treating mental illness, how about discussing things that we already know work, like...I don't know... uh, psychotherapy, which the author never mentions.

[Sheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book because I think the author is discussing a serious problem with our culture. But about half his solutions are either unlikely or unhelpful, and the rest are pretty much common sense. To be honest, reading his last chapter ("Healing the Obsession"), I sometimes thought he missed the point of his own book.

He thinks people should be less obsessed with popular media, but pooh-poohs the idea of "turn off your TV day" or of living without the daily news or that the Internet might serve to wean people off the MSM. He wants media reform so that it becomes less influential, but also thinks we need "a high-profile campaign to foster politeness." He recommend "Responsible Wealth Display," but all his real-life examples are of simply not displaying wealth (and some of them are in cultures where people know you're wealthy whether you're showing it or not). He does offer the theoretical "Product design would ditch today's emphasis on overscaling and ostentation, instead emphasizing functional quality and pure aesthetics." But the makers of Lexus cars, which he condemns as irresponsible, claim they're "blending functional high-tech with pleasing aesthetics." As Pride and Ferrell's book Marketing points out, "For years, automobile makers have relied on quality and aesthetic modifications" to convince people that this year's model is better than last year's. Rubens supposed solution is already a big part of the problem.

He repeatedly discusses the idea that we'd all do better if we could created "villages" of 20 to 200 members, "bound together by a common higher purpose," whose "leaders treat subordinates as valued and respected companions." And he seems to recognize that religion could support some of these "villages." But he also argues that, "Whether Mormon, Unitarian, Buddhist, or anything in between, our faith leaders should unite across religions and denominations to show their agreements as to how each of us can use living faith as a daily guide to personal behavior and fulfillment. Our political and spiritual leaders should also acknowledge the great common ground between believers and those whose quest for a meaningful life and a higher purpose does not demand belief in God."

But how could any of these religious groups continue to function as the small, supportive communities they often are, the kind of communities he thinks we need more of, if they were channeling their energies into how much alike they are? There certainly are religious leaders who do exactly what Rubens requests, just as there are a fair number of people who consider themselves spiritual while not really belonging to any particular belief system. Fr instance, Unitarian Universalists are probably doing the most toward Rubens' goals -- but 75% of UUs don't belong to a congregation. Their belief system may "strengthen [the] nation and make [them] happier," which is something Rubens praises religious or spiritual belief for, but it apparently does not support community.

Other churches that stress ecumenicism, whether world-wide or Christian, are bleeding members as well. I suspect that, in order for a religious group to function as a community long term, what they're going to emphasize is what makes you a member, which is to say, how they *differ* from others. So once again, Rubens wants to have his cake and eat it to -- he wants to encourage communities, but then recommends something that will prevent their formation.

So lots of interesting info, but expect the author to shoot himself in the foot on a right regular basis.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the basic idea that Rubens is trying to get across -- that Americans tend to kill themselves on the principle of achievement, rather than focusing on things that "really matter." Some of the sociology and science he brings up is interesting too -- like Sapolsky's experiments on primate group hierarchy and how this can inform the way we set up our own businesses, groups, etc.

I did like his concept of creating mini-villages in which to carry out our everyday lives, and I think this is a trend that many are already moving towards; however, though he gave a couple of examples, he didn't give a particularly thorough model of how to achieve these micro-communities where people can thrive within so-called "functioning" hierarchies.

On the whole, Rubens' tone was a bit too didactic and "holier-than-thou" for my taste, and I thought he stretched the thesis a bit too far by applying the concept of "Oversuccess" to everything from lack of common courtesy to media violence. Seems like he could have introduced some personal examples to warm up the book and dampen the scolding effect.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

OverSuccess starts off strong, with a sweeping overview of success from an evolutionary and cultural perspective. Jim Rubens links together myriad studies in an engaging, thoughtful manner.

He lost me once it became clear he believed that technology (gene therapy, epigenetics) is a solution to some of the problems of over-success. Rubens political bent comes through loud and clear (he's a republican) and I bristled at some of his comments about "anti-gun lefties."

If you can see past his politics and self-promotion (so clearly not yet free of the desire to be seen!) it's a worthwhile, interesting read, if only for the correlations between recent scientific studies.

[Mason Frierson · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first glance I was expecting a read chalked full of opinion on the downturn of society and how we have all failed our children and forefathers. Instead, what I found was cohesive concept broken down into well researched science, sociology, psychology and anthropology laid out in a way that is fun to read. Important to note is how Rubens does a nice job of separating his opinions from the stated facts.

As a parent, this book makes me think a bit more about the world we live in and the world I want to send my kids out into, without making me feel depressed about it all. In fact is gives some positive ideas on how to do little things daily to promote well adjusted self esteem and a more caring community while still achieving success.

I found this to be a great read both when I was interested in piecing together the causes and affects of fixation on "OverSuccess", and when I really just wanted to read through interesting facts after a long day. In short, buy it, you won't regret it.

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

The arguments were interesting, but the book felt choppy and incomplete.