As much as Americans are divided by race, gender, and political ideology, Charles Murray makes a convincing case that a widening class divide could be leading to the end of the American project. Due in to selective breeding by those who attended elite universities and geographical isolation of those people into affluent zip codes, America's class divide has expressed itself not only in monetary terms, but also in a separation of cultures that spells disaster for the country. The decline of marriage, good jobs, and civic and religious community in America's lower class represents an aberration from the vision of the founding, and from Americas more equal past. In De Tocqueville's famous investigation into the way of life in America in the 1830s, he remarked about American's distinct lack of class divide, and their unique combination of political liberty with private virtue. While some had more than others, those that had less were not looked down upon, and did not look down upon themselves, because they possessed valuable things outside of money. These fundamental principle of American life continued into the 1960s, but in the late 20th century has took a surprising turn for the worse. America's upper class is increasingly isolated from the lower class in everything from television shows watched, to jobs worked, to voting patterns. Concentrated on the coasts and in the major cities, the new upper class is more of a traditional ruling class than existed in America in the past. As such, We are approaching a situation less like the America we once had, like that the founders envisioned. If we cannot return to a measure of egalitarianism, culturally, not monetarily, our coming apart could become a tearing apart, and ultimately a permanent separation.
Thoughts on Coming Apart by Charles Murray
Thoughts on Coming Apart by Charles Murray
Thoughts on Coming Apart by Charles Murray
As much as Americans are divided by race, gender, and political ideology, Charles Murray makes a convincing case that a widening class divide could be leading to the end of the American project. Due in to selective breeding by those who attended elite universities and geographical isolation of those people into affluent zip codes, America's class divide has expressed itself not only in monetary terms, but also in a separation of cultures that spells disaster for the country. The decline of marriage, good jobs, and civic and religious community in America's lower class represents an aberration from the vision of the founding, and from Americas more equal past. In De Tocqueville's famous investigation into the way of life in America in the 1830s, he remarked about American's distinct lack of class divide, and their unique combination of political liberty with private virtue. While some had more than others, those that had less were not looked down upon, and did not look down upon themselves, because they possessed valuable things outside of money. These fundamental principle of American life continued into the 1960s, but in the late 20th century has took a surprising turn for the worse. America's upper class is increasingly isolated from the lower class in everything from television shows watched, to jobs worked, to voting patterns. Concentrated on the coasts and in the major cities, the new upper class is more of a traditional ruling class than existed in America in the past. As such, We are approaching a situation less like the America we once had, like that the founders envisioned. If we cannot return to a measure of egalitarianism, culturally, not monetarily, our coming apart could become a tearing apart, and ultimately a permanent separation.