ABSTRACT
Christopher Lasch contends that the new elites in both American and international life are the people who control the flow of information and money and who dictate the trends in public debate. Lasch states that "common standards are absolutely indispensable to a democratic society. Societies organized around a hierarchy of privilege can afford multiple standards, but a democracy cannot. The American public listens to misrepresented opinions and confuses them with "facts." The American public listens to misrepresented opinions and confuses them with "facts." Lasch also traces the history of public education and shows that contrary to the vision of educator Horace Mann, schools avoid controversy at all costs. Lasch attempts to trace the religious foundation of democracy by describing how the therapeutic state replaced the religious one. Lasch argues that America abandoned her religious roots, or reformed them beyond recognition, to suit an individualistic mentality.
