Over a thirty-six-year career as historian, social and political critic, and teacher, Christopher Lasch's reputation as one of America's most-influential twentieth-century cultural theorists has been affirmed across the political spectrum. Known for his independence and sustained criticism of dominant liberal and conservative positions, Lasch both delighted and infuriated many with his blend of populism and Freudian-Marxist analysis. Although what may best summarize Lasch's overriding theme was his emphasis on hope sustained within the limits of family, community, nation, and environmental realities--and thus his critique of the limitless "economic growth and acquisitive individualism" that characterizes America's dominant political ideologies-- Lasch's most important legacy may prove to be his insistence on the necessity of vigorous debate and the rejuvenation of the public sphere.

Robert Christopher Lasch was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on 1 June 1932 to Robert and Zora Schaupp Lasch. In a 1994 interview Lasch recalled growing up in a politically aware...