Morris Berman

American cultural critic and historian who wrote The Reenchantment of the World, Coming to Our Senses, The Twilight of American Culture, and Why America Failed — arguing that American culture represents a uniquely hollow form of civilization built entirely on hustling, materialism, and the absence of inner life.

Provides the most systematic critique of American cultural emptiness — Berman argues that America was founded on hustler values (individual advancement, money, mobility) rather than communal or spiritual values, and this founding defect means it has no cultural resources to draw on in its decline.