Self-reinvention

Ito continues his self-reinventions. Each time his turn seems suited to the moment ambivalently, equal parts progressive and defeated, and perhaps each time, but certainly this time, the fault rests not with him but the political moment.

The new crop of anti-perfectionist self-help books are an important counterweight to the conventional message of self-reinvention, which is that there’s no point at which it makes sense to be satisfied with your situation and finally relax, since you could always benefit from acquiring more money, status, education, and so on.