The Repressive Politics of Emotional Intelligence

My parents did not often concern themselves with my moral education, but, when they did, whatever wisdom or warnings they had to impart were accompanied by books--typically, pop-psychology best-sellers. Two stand out in my memory: "Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls," by Mary Pipher, and "Emotional Intelligence," by Daniel Goleman. The first I read with great satisfaction. None of my transgressions were as alarming or exciting as what Pipher described--no drugs, no clandestine trips to the family liquor cabinet, no sullen application of nail polish--so her tales of bad behavior left me feeling both titillated and smug. The second book I set aside, as I suspected it had been purchased to point out my more common defects.