gimley reviewed White Working Class by Joan C. Williams
Review of 'White Working Class' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
The White Working Class, as any class, is a culture in the anthropological sense. The values of a culture make sense within the culture but are seen as irrational from the outside.
After reading this book, I can see that many of those seeming irrationalities makes various kinds of sense and that there are beliefs of my own culture--e.g. that the merits rewarded in a liberal meritocracy aren't innately superior to the merits in WWC values. Ultimately much depends on getting WWC and PME cultures to understand one another rather than condemning one another and this book is a small part of the solution.
Written in the language of the PME, it only works in one direction, however. Someone needs to explain the PME to the WWC in a sympathetic way and no one is doing it. Ms. Williams makes a few suggestions: frame "pro choice" as strengthening families rather …
The White Working Class, as any class, is a culture in the anthropological sense. The values of a culture make sense within the culture but are seen as irrational from the outside.
After reading this book, I can see that many of those seeming irrationalities makes various kinds of sense and that there are beliefs of my own culture--e.g. that the merits rewarded in a liberal meritocracy aren't innately superior to the merits in WWC values. Ultimately much depends on getting WWC and PME cultures to understand one another rather than condemning one another and this book is a small part of the solution.
Written in the language of the PME, it only works in one direction, however. Someone needs to explain the PME to the WWC in a sympathetic way and no one is doing it. Ms. Williams makes a few suggestions: frame "pro choice" as strengthening families rather than as "self-actualization", replace means-tested benfits with those that benefit everyone (e.g. free college/trade schools), better explain government programs to those who are already benefiting but don't know it's because of government. But these are the barest beginnings. I worry about our future.
