Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • The Atlantic

    Live Like the Ancient Cynics

    Modern cynicism traps you in an unhappy cycle. The original version will set you free.
    by Arthur C. Brooks Jan 20, 2022 5 minutes
    Source: Jan Buchczik

    “How to Build a Life” is a weekly column by Arthur Brooks, tackling questions of meaning and happiness. Click here to listen to his podcast series on all things happiness, How to Build a Happy Life.

    There are a growing number of Marxists today. By which I mean followers of Groucho, not Karl. “Whatever it is, I’m against it,” Marx sang in his 1932 film, Horse Feathers. “I don’t know what they have to say / It makes no difference anyway.”

    What was satire then is ideology today: Cynicism—the belief that people are generally morally bankrupt and behave treacherously in order to maximize self-interest—dominates American culture. Since 1964, the percentage of Americans who say they trust the government to do what is right “just about always” or “most of the time” has 53 points, from 77 to.

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from The Atlantic

    The Atlantic4 min read
    Amazon Decides Speed Isn’t Everything
    Amazon has spent the past two decades putting one thing above all else: speed. How did the e-commerce giant steal business away from bookstores, hardware stores, clothing boutiques, and so many other kinds of retailers? By selling cheap stuff, but mo
    The Atlantic4 min read
    American Environmentalism Just Got Shoved Into Legal Purgatory
    In a 6–3 ruling today, the Supreme Court essentially threw a stick of dynamite at a giant, 40-year-old legal levee. The decision overruled what is known as the Chevron doctrine, a precedent that governed how American laws were administered. In doing
    The Atlantic4 min read
    What the Supreme Court Doesn’t Get About Homelessness
    The Supreme Court has just ripped away one of the rare shreds of legal protections available to homeless people. In a 6–3 ruling, the Court has decided that the city of Grants Pass, Oregon, did not violate the Eighth Amendment by enforcing camping ba

    Related Books & Audiobooks