Reddit reviews Coming Up Short: Working-Class Adulthood in an Age of Uncertainty

Recently read this book: Coming Up Short: Working-Class Adulthood in an Age of Uncertainty

Author talked about how neoliberal economics (deregulation, eroding social safety net) makes life much more uncertain, and thus stressful, on young adults.

Basically - the whole "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" line where society constantly says you, and only you, and responsible for your fate, regardless of circumstance. Very anxiety-inducing.

And the this book: Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging talks about how humans, on a fundamental evolutionary level, are communal creatures. "We have a strong instinct to belong to small groups defined by clear purpose and understanding--"tribes." This tribal connection has been largely lost in modern society, but regaining it may be the key to our psychological survival.

> This is an excellent sobering book, very easy to read because its anecdotal. Many of the people in this book could be family and neighbors, these stories are so real and familiar. What stands out is the astonishing lack of social trust. I'm not sure many of our favorite classical marxist theorists have really tackled how to create class consciousness among these types of individuals, or a society packed with them.
> https://www.amazon.com/Coming-Short-Working-Class-Adulthood-Uncertainty/dp/0190231890