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" The betrayal of the West / "
Jacques Ellul ; translated by Matthew J. O'Connell.
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BL
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| Record Number
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958140
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b712510
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| Uniform Title
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Trahison de l'Occident.English
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| Main Entry
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Ellul, Jacques,1912-1994
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| Title & Author
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The betrayal of the West /\ Jacques Ellul ; translated by Matthew J. O'Connell.
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| Publication Statement
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New York :: Seabury Press,, [1978]
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, c1978.
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| Series Statement
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A Continuum book
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| Page. NO
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ix, 207 pages ;; 22 cm.
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| ISBN
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0816493383
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: 9780816493388
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| Notes
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Translation of Trahison de l'Occident.
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| Bibliographies/Indexes
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Includes bibliographical references.
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| Contents
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Guilty, not guilty -- Defense of western man -- Mystery of the west -- The truly poor -- The shipwreck of the left -- The betrayal of reason and history: the utopist, the geometer and the technician -- The betrayal of the individual: the executioner -- The betrayal of love and freedom: the grand inquisitor -- Epilogue: those whom God wishes to destroy, He first makes mad.
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| Abstract
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Jacques Ellul is primarily known for his insightful critiques of Western culture. His recent books describe the "new demons" let loose upon the contemporary world by the double-edged achievements of science and industry. But he asserts in this latest book, the critics have gone too far. The West is the victim of a betrayal--that of its own children. Its intellectuals, most notably those of the Left, are necessarily that products of a civilized society. Yet they so loudly reproach this civilization for the atrocities and the destruction of rich local culture which have accompanied its growth that we are deaf to the reasoned voice which proclaims our debts to this Western tradition. When Ellul acknowledges the validity of many of these accusations, in The Betrayal Of The West he points out that they are not peculiar to the West, that they are indeed inherent in the growth of any civilization. And Ellul, as an historian, is a lover of civilization. He especially emphasizes the importance of the legacy of our own civilization. We are indebted to the West for our concepts of freedom, equality, and above all, the idea of the individual. In his words, "The West represents values for which there is no substitute. The West is a past, a difference, a shared history, and a shared human project ... The end of the West today would mean the end of any possible civilization." The Betrayal of the West explores the need for defense as well as critique of our culture. It explains the origins of the contradiction at the heart of Western Civilization and traces the course of this dialectic in three supreme chapters constructed around metaphors which correspond to the promise, the challenge, and, ultimately, the failure of the political left in Western societies.
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| Subject
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Civilization, Modern-- 1950-
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Civilization, Western.
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Civilization, Modern.
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Civilization, Western.
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Civilization.
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Historia Moderna.
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Modern civilization.
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Western civilization.
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Civilization.
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Modern civilization.
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Western civilization.
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| Dewey Classification
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909/.09/821
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| LC Classification
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CB245.E513
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| Added Entry
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O'Connell, Matthew J.
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