The Well-Tempered Self

In The Well-Tempered Self Miller contends that the modern capitalist state musters a variety of mixed messages about the nature of citizenship and the self. Miller argues that capitalism''s democratic politics requires selfless community-minded citizens while its economics depends on selfish utilitarian consumers. To fulfil these conflicting needs for political order and economic prosperity powerful cultural forces are employed to instill a sense of ethical incompleteness. Citizens are then offered political cultural and economic opportunities to become better happier and more fulfilled - opportunities that in turn encourage loyalty to both the political and economic systems. In a series of case studies that demonstrate this process Miller examines mass entertainment political discourse and methods of resistance to these powerful cultural forces.