Summary: <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A lecture by Claire Fox, director of the Institute of Ideas, at The Academy 2017.</span></p><br> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Narcissism is now - according to the <em>New York Times</em> - 'the go-to diagnosis' for commentators. Why has cultural narcissism become so deeply woven into the fabric of contemporary society? Why has individualistic self-preoccupation with identity become dominant at the very time when individual autonomy and agency are so weak? Are there any positive aspects in constructing Brand Me and a ‘Narrative of Self’ in terms of reclaiming subjective selfhood? Is narcissism too clichéd a concept to help us understand today’s crisis of identity?</span></p>
