立場新聞 2019/06/14 19:09
Tony Judt is a historian and public intellectual. He is most famous for his book, 'Postwar' (Penguin 2005), a sweeping history of post-World II Europe, and his public denounciation of Zionism of which he was once an adherent.
'Ill Fares the Land' is the last book Judt wrote and saw published before his death in 2010 at the age of 62 when he succumbed to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS (肌萎縮側索硬化症), a painful and often deadly disease of the nerves.
Judt has described 'Ill Fares the Land' as his 'letter to young people', a generation that he sees as increasingly disillusioned and anxious about the current state of affairs but at a loss with how to respond.
The book encourages our youth to look critically at the way we now live and handle our political and social affairs, a way of life that is dominated by increasing wealth disparity and 'the pursuit of material self-interest'.
'We cannot go on living like this,' says Judt.
Rather, insists Judt, we need to return to the time, not long ago, when we questioned whether a decision that was made on behalf of the people was right or wrong, fair or unfair, rather than just whether the decision was good for business or the economy. At its core, the book argues for a return to our roots as a social democracy, one that accepted the idea of capitalism but also looked after the well-being of those less fortunate. A sobering yet stirring call to action for young and old alike.