The irony of utopia
There is a dramatic irony present concerning utopia. Although the book is titled The End of Utopia, that end would have happened before utopia were ever accomplished. The truth is that utopia might be literally impossible, and yet, Jacoby says there is nothing better than to strive for it. The title suggests that while the conservatives battle for the status quo of traditional points of view, and while the liberals kick against the goads, there is an ideal balance.
The Democrat party
Jacoby writes this book as a scathing commentary on the brokenness of the American left. Instead of sticking to its philosophical guns (so to speak), the left has become a conglomerate entity with political and media alliances that are established in themselves. Instead of being anti-establishment and philosophically progressive, they merely conserve a different list of interests and opinions. By aligning one's self with the Democratic party lines, one abandons progressivism in a bitter twist of irony.
The market
The market is the domain of endless irony, but in Jacoby's essay, one irony stands out among the rest. The liberal movement is typically oriented against big businesses, fighting for the economic underdog and everyday American, but in recent years, party leaders have established market alliances with big companies. Instead of being a battle of conservative versus liberal, it is merely a shadow battle between one list of companies and another list of companies with contrary economic interests. Where is the progressivism in that?
Media and skepticism
Jacoby says that liberals have fallen for an ironic trick. Although historically, the opinion about mass media has been that media companies are merely companies, recently it seems that liberal folks have forgotten that media companies are companies. By saying liberal sounding words, leftist media companies have thrived in America although Jacoby argues that nothing is less progressive than trusting a big company to give true facts. Major media companies should be firmly distrusted, regardless of whether their slant is liberal-sounding, Jacoby urges.
