{"id":47571,"date":"2021-09-06T06:00:57","date_gmt":"2021-09-06T10:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=47571"},"modified":"2021-09-23T08:49:11","modified_gmt":"2021-09-23T12:49:11","slug":"the-road-to-character-by-david-brooks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-road-to-character-by-david-brooks\/","title":{"rendered":"The Road to Character by David Brooks: Book Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What are the key takeaways in David Brooks’s book The Road to Character<\/em>? In what ways has society shifted from a “we” to a “me” mindset?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Road to Character <\/em>by David Brooks is about the modern shift in moral character. Brooks provides many examples of important events that occurred in the past that wouldn’t have happened, had the people involved been as selfish as people today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading for a <\/em>brief overview of The Road to Character.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Road to Character<\/em>: Book Overview<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Would you rather develop a new product or develop your soul? What matters more to you\u2014being a successful CEO or being someone who always lends a helping hand? Having a pile of money in the bank or knowing that your retirement years will be shared with friends and family who adore you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are the kinds of questions considered in The Road to Character <\/em>by David Brooks. Brooks believes we live in a cultural framework that emphasizes exterior success<\/strong>\u2014money, fame, status, work promotions, and other upwardly mobile achievements\u2014at the expense of our virtue and inner character.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to succeed in that framework, we\u2019ve become narcissists. Because we want to ascend the ladder of success, we put ourselves at the center of our own universe. Almost every minute of our days must be spent working toward some achievement. We inflate our resum\u00e9s with accolades and promotions. We have lunch with the \u201cright\u201d people. We trade up to larger houses and fancier cars. We enroll our kids in the best schools. We spend our lives in pursuit of superficial, materialistic gains because we believe this will make us happy. <\/strong>The problem is that these accomplishments don\u2019t give us deep satisfaction\u2014eventually, they leave us feeling hollow and empty, wondering what it was all for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Road to Character<\/em> argues that in order to live more meaningful lives, we need to move toward a moral renewal. We need to ask ourselves how we can better serve the world instead of just serving ourselves. <\/strong>If we start paying more attention to living virtuously<\/a> and strengthening our character rather than building our resum\u00e9s and stock portfolios, we can enjoy a life filled with purpose instead of shallow victories. And ultimately, we\u2019ll become happier people<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Worldview Shifts From \u201cWe\u201d to \u201cMe\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Our culture wasn\u2019t always obsessed with personal achievement. Today\u2019s \u201cme-focused\u201d worldview didn\u2019t arise until the late 1940s. Prior to that time, most Americans accepted the notion of \u201coriginal sin\u201d\u2014that we\u2019re born deeply flawed, and it\u2019s our task to battle our imperfections. Whether we win or lose that battle, the fight is always worthwhile because character is built through struggle.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because we realized we were flawed, we believed there must be a greater good in the world, a purpose bigger than ourselves. That belief made us more community-minded. People thought it was honorable to be modest about individual successes and more deely invested in the wellbeing of our neighborhoods, communities, or country. Humility and self-restraint were highly respected traits.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider President George Bush Sr., who was born in 1924 and grew up during the Great Depression<\/a>. After his speechwriters prepared his speeches, he would go through and cross out every instance of the word \u201cI.\u201d He believed that he needed to serve as the voice of the people, not of himself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cultural Roots of the Shift <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cme-focused\u201d zeitgeist, which took root in the late 1940s and early 1950s, came about after Americans\u2019 long period of deprivation during World War II. It was psychologically liberating to shift from the hardships of war and poverty to the freedom of consumerism. Advertisements for new, exciting products started to frame a new way of living (and thinking). At the same time, popular books stressed a humanistic psychology that described a more uplifting version of what human life could be. (One of that era\u2019s biggest bestsellers was the 1952 self-help book The Power of Positive Thinking.<\/em>) The message switched from \u201cyou\u2019re born as a flawed sinner\u201d to \u201cyou\u2019re great, so love yourself.\u201d (Shortform note: To learn more about the ideas that caused this shift, read our summary of The Power of Positive Thinking<\/em><\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over time, the pendulum swung so far in the direction of self-actualization that it has now reached the extreme of narcissism<\/strong>\u2014we\u2019re all about ourselves\u2014the “Big Me.” <\/strong>And we\u2019re mostly blind to it. If asked, most of us would say we\u2019re more virtuous than a lot of other people. But therein lies our problem. We have such an inflated view of ourselves that we don’t see our own flaws. We have so much confidence in ourselves that we justify our life choices just because they “feel right.” We\u2019ve sipped from our own Kool-Aid. In short, we\u2019ve become self-obsessed. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, as we glibly travel along our \u201cme-focused\u201d roads, our lives have lost their sense of meaning. We\u2019re so busy achieving worldly success, there\u2019s no time for soul-searching, pondering our character, or questioning whether we\u2019re behaving in a morally righteous manner. On top of that, we don\u2019t remember what it feels like to devote ourselves to a cause larger than ourselves. We\u2019ve lost the value\u2014and the deep, abiding joy\u2014of sublimating our individual desires for a greater good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We Can Still Be Capitalists<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that the two schools of thought\u2014living an achievement-based life versus living a virtuous life\u2014are not mutually exclusive. We can be achievement-oriented without being egotistically \u201cme-focused.\u201d We are resourceful enough to be able to combine our ambition with moral and spiritual development. We don\u2019t need to go off to a mountaintop and renounce all worldly pleasures in order to live a fulfilling life\u2014in fact, our economy depends on us being high-achieving workers who earn and spend money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The battle for stronger character and high morals is waged on the inside. <\/strong>What you do for your vocation can aid in this battle\u2014working in public service is definitely good for the soul\u2014but what matters most is looking inward, admitting to your imperfections, facing life with humility, and struggling to become a better human being. If you devote enough effort to examining your flaws and developing your inner character, you could manage a successful hedge fund while living a life of selfless virtue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A New Kind of Happiness<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the best part of leaving our selfish, self-aggrandizing ways behind is that it leads to a more fulfilling life<\/a>. <\/strong>Instead of chasing whatever superficial goal appeals to us at the moment, we\u2019ll be working toward a higher purpose. We\u2019ll be less concerned about impressing everybody and more concerned with loving others and ourselves. We\u2019ll find more joy in helping our communities than in buying a shiny new trinket. We\u2019ll settle into a mature, relaxed state of self-acceptance, knowing that we\u2019re living a life of profound meaning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Real-Life Examples <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The bulk of The Road to Character<\/em> presents a series of profiles, a hall of fame stocked with historical figures who rose above their imperfections and their lives\u2019 challenges to build strength of character. They did it by employing self-restraint and embracing a vigorous moral code.<\/strong> The profiles include military and political leaders, crusaders for justice, advocates for the oppressed, and writers and thinkers spread across cultures and centuries. Each of these figures made their mark in history by humbling themselves, admitting to their shortcomings, and working tirelessly to become better human beings. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What are the key takeaways in David Brooks’s book The Road to Character? In what ways has society shifted from a “we” to a “me” mindset? The Road to Character by David Brooks is about the modern shift in moral character. Brooks provides many examples of important events that occurred in the past that wouldn’t have happened, had the people involved been as selfish as people today. Keep reading for a brief overview of The Road to Character.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":45304,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,43,24],"tags":[477],"class_list":["post-47571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-self-improvement","category-society","tag-the-road-to-character","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Road to Character by David Brooks: Book Overview - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Road to Character is David Brooks's book about the modern shift in thinking from "we" to "me." 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