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An intelligent and irreverent investigation into the age-old problem of self-control finds that in the modern world solving it is the most important thing we can do More calories sex and intoxicants are more readily and privately available than at any time in memory Pornography and gambling are now instantly and anonymously accessible to anyone with an Internet- connected computer Trying to work If so chances are youre also struggling to resist the siren call of the Internet-to say nothing of the snack machine As Americas bulging waistlines can attest mealtime is no longer a discrete part of the day and our struggles with weight have never been more desperate We Have Met the Enemy examines overeating overspending procrastination wayward sexual attraction and other everyday transgressions that bedevil modern society While temptations have multiplied many of the longstanding social constraints on behavior have eroded Tradition ideology and religion have lost their grip on many of us while commonly accepted standards of attire speech and comportment in the public sphere have largely dissolved Financial constraints once a ready substitute for willpower were swept away by surging affluence and the remarkable openhandedness of lenders And we all know what happened then A remarkable confluence of freedom affluence and technology are sorely testing the limits of human willpower This conundrum of self-control has occupied thinkers since the time of Socrates Philosophers theologians psychologists and lately economists have wrestled with the question of how it is possible for us to act against our own best interest but the issue has never been more urgent than it is today For affluent societies the struggle for self- mastery is the preeminent challenge of our times In essence willpower is the ballgame If our humanity hinges on anything its our ability as individuals to guide our behavior according to our own judgment of what is best Self- control is what makes you a mensch Using self-control as a lens rather than a cudgel Daniel Akst combines social insight with history literature psychology and economics to alarm teach and empower us We Have Met the Enemy is a call to arms for each of us to exercise more control over our own destiny-and thereby to be happier healthier and ultimately more fully human.



About the Author

Daniel Akst

Daniel Akst is a writer whose columns, essays and reviews have appeared in a variety of publications, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Wilson Quarterly, Slate, Metropolis and many others. He's also the author of two novels and two nonfiction books. He works as an editorial writer at Newsday, on Long Island, where he also writes a weekly column that is distributed by the McClatchy-Tribune news service. For more information, visit www.akst.com.



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