High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Closing of the American Mind is a 1987 book by Allan Bloom. It describes "how higher education has failed democracy and impoverished the souls of today`s students." He focuses especially upon the "openness" of relativism as leading paradoxically to the great "closing" referenced in the book`s title. Bloom argues that "openness" and absolute understanding undermines critical thinking and eliminates the "point of view" that defines cultures.