Copyright © Eva Illouz 2007

The right of Eva Illouz to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in 2007 by Polity Press

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Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK.

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ISBN-10: 0-7456-3904-6

ISBN-13: 978-07456-3904-8

ISBN-10: 0-7456-3905-4 (pb)

ISBN-13: 978-07456-3905-5 (pb)

ISBN-13: 978-07456-5807-0 (Multi-user ebook)

ISBN-13: 978-07456-5808-7 (Single-user ebook)

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Few books owe their existence to the initiative of a single person. This book is one of them. When he invited me to deliver the Adorno Lectures in Frankfurt, Axel Honneth compelled me to stop and think again about what I was working on at the time, namely the role of psychology in shaping the ordinary cultural frames of middle-class men and women in much of the contemporary world. I re-read critical theorists, and came to realize with a renewed acuity that the long tradition of critical theory starting, from Theodor Adorno to Axel Honneth via Habermas, has yet to be surpassed in its capacity to make sense of the conflicting tendencies at work in modernity. Axel’s towering intellectual vision, his generosity and relentless energy stand squarely behind the making of this book.

I thank wholeheartedly Viviana Zelizer for having made possible a visiting position at the department of Sociology at Princeton University during which I wrote these lectures. My deep gratitude goes to the cheerful and efficient librarians of the Institute for Advanced Study.

Beatrice Smedley read all three chapters, and with her exceptional kindness and sharpness offered a lot to reflect about and to improve on. Carol Kidron’s own work on trauma as well as her critical insights contributed to the book. Eitan Wilf must be thanked for reading the manuscript and offering, with his usual directness, sharp criticisms and judicious bibliographical additions. Lior Flum has been an invaluable help in the sometimes difficult process of making a book presentable.

I thank wholeheartedly Sarah Dancy, Emma Hutchinson, and Gail Ferguson at Polity Press for their thoroughness, professionalism, and kindness.

Finally, I dedicate this book to my husband and best friend, Elchanan, who did more than his share of reading, criticizing, discussing the book, spent a considerable amount of his time listening to many confused hesitations, and shared in more than a few moments of unthinking happiness.

Eva Illouz