First published 2012
Charles Murray investigates the creation of distinct American social classes that differ fundamentally from historical patterns. The author of Losing Ground and The Bell Curve focuses specifically on white Americans to demonstrate that emerging social divisions transcend racial and ethnic boundaries. Murray draws from fifty years of statistical data and research to show how a new upper class and new lower class have separated so completely in fundamental behaviors and values that they no longer share recognizable common ground. This separation exists independently of income differences and has persisted through both prosperous and difficult economic periods. The upper class increasingly lives in isolated communities, disconnected from mainstream American life, while the lower class experiences the breakdown of family structures and community bonds that threaten core American ideals. Murray argues this cultural divide endangers the entire American experiment. Though his evidence centers on white America, his conclusions apply to the nation as a whole.
Genres: american, non-fiction, academic, american-history
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: social-commentary
Setting: America, United States
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
416 pages · Hardcover · Crown Forum