STEWART GOODWIN: Recalibrating Progress Stewart Goodwin In search for a ray of light in the future fog, I revisited two books that had lain untouched on my library shelves for 30 years. Their author, Christopher Lasch, while intellectually controversial during his lifetime (he died in 1994), feels vibrantly relevant today. My search was for useful nuggets, and I discovered two, one from each book. The first book is "The Culture of Narcissism" (1979). It builds upon an idea famously articulated by Winston Churchill. "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." The narcissism of the United States, and other western nations, is to be so captivated by their own accomplishments and exceptionalism that no obstacle seems impossible to overcome. Lasch deplores degrading facts while elevating myths.