Building the Benedict Option
by Leah Libresco, Ignatius Press, 163pp, £13
The concept of authenticity has gained much cachet recently. In politics, the popularity of figures as disparate as Donald Trump and Jeremy Corbyn has been ascribed to their authenticity. In popular culture, the emergence of academic theories of gender and sexuality into the mainstream has been accomplished due in part to an appeal to “authenticity”. In the marketplace, bespoke is back in vogue and consumer choices in everything from produce to healthcare to underwear are sold as expressions of one’s identity – that is, of one’s authenticity.
