| Edition |
First edtion. |
| Description |
xiv, 348 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages [305]-327) and index. |
| Summary |
Examines the challenges facing modern America and offers a framework to lead the country out. |
|
Respected conservative journalist and commentator Timothy P. Carney continues the conversation begun with Hillbilly Elegy and the classic Bowling Alone in this hard-hitting analysis that identifies the true factor behind the decline of the American dream: it is not purely the result of economics as the left claims, but the collapse of the institutions that made us successful, including marriage, church, and civic life. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald J. Trump proclaimed, "the American dream is dead," and this message resonated across the country. Why do so many people believe that the American dream is no longer within reach? Growing inequality, stubborn pockets of immobility, rising rates of deadly addiction, the increasing and troubling fact that where you start determines where you end up, heightening political strife--these are the disturbing realities threatening ordinary American lives today. The standard accounts pointed to economic problems among the working class, but the root was a cultural collapse: While the educated and wealthy elites still enjoy strong communities, most blue-collar Americans lack strong communities and institutions that bind them to their neighbors. And outside of the elites, the central American institution has been religion. That is, it's not the factory closings that have torn us apart; it's the church closings. The dissolution of our most cherished institutions--nuclear families, places of worship, civic organizations--has not only divided us, but eroded our sense of worth, belief in opportunity, and connection to one another. In Alienated America, Carney visits all corners of America, from the dim country bars of Southwestern Pennsylvania., to the bustling Mormon wards of Salt Lake City, and explains the most important data and research to demonstrate how the social connection is the great divide in America. He shows that Trump's surprising victory was the most visible symptom of this deep-seated problem. In addition to his detailed exploration of how a range of societal changes have, in tandem, damaged us, Carney provides a framework that will lead us back out of a lonely, modern wilderness. |
| Contents |
It takes a village : where the American dream lives -- Progress at a price : the changing American dream, 1955-2018 -- "They've chosen not to keep up" : is it economics or culture? -- American decay : broken places, broken people -- "I don't" : the dissolution of the family -- Bowling alone : the dissolution of civil society -- It's about church : America's indispensable institution -- Overcentralization : how big business and bit government erode civil society -- Hyper-individualism : how the modern economy and the sexual revolution erode civil society -- The alienated : Trump country -- The elites : the village of man -- The church people : the village of God -- Overcoming alienation : problems and solutions. |
| Subject |
United States -- Social life and customs -- 21st century.
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United States -- History -- 21st century.
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American Dream.
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Communities -- United States -- Social conditions -- 21st century.
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SOCIAL SCIENCE / Social Classes & Economic Disparity.
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| ISBN |
9780062797100 (hardcover) |
|
0062797107 (hardcover) |
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