Theodore Dalrymple
Paperback | Pages: 284 pages Rating: 4.21 | 2179 Users | 252 Reviews
Present Of Books Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass
| Title | : | Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass |
| Author | : | Theodore Dalrymple |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 284 pages |
| Published | : | March 8th 2003 by Ivan R. Dee Publisher (first published 2001) |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. Politics. Sociology. Psychology. Economics. Writing. Essays |
Commentary In Pursuance Of Books Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass
Here is a searing account-probably the best yet published-of life in the underclass and why it persists as it does. Theodore Dalrymple, a British psychiatrist who treats the poor in a slum hospital and a prison in England, has seemingly seen it all. Yet in listening to and observing his patients, he is continually astonished by the latest twist of depravity that exceeds even his own considerable experience. Dalrymple's key insight in Life at the Bottom is that long-term poverty is caused not by economics but by a dysfunctional set of values, one that is continually reinforced by an elite culture searching for victims. This culture persuades those at the bottom that they have no responsibility for their actions and are not the molders of their own lives. Drawn from the pages of the cutting-edge political and cultural quarterly City Journal, Dalrymple's book draws upon scores of eye-opening, true-life vignettes that are by turns hilariously funny, chillingly horrifying, and all too revealing-sometimes all at once. And Dalrymple writes in prose that transcends journalism and achieves the quality of literature.List Books Conducive To Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass
| Original Title: | Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass |
| ISBN: | 1566635055 (ISBN13: 9781566635059) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rating Of Books Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass
Ratings: 4.21 From 2179 Users | 252 ReviewsColumn Of Books Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass
Reading Dalrymple's Life at the Bottom was like going to McDonalds with Margaret Thatcher and having her constantly whispering in your ear while pointing rudely at strangers, 'Oh, aren't they awful, look at their table manners, oh how ghastly!' Now, while Margaret might be right, there might be a bit of lettuce saturated with orange sauce hanging out of a spotty teenager's oily mouth, and you might indeed be repulsed by it, but after her diatribe you will be determined that you see the diningWhat make this bleak, sobering book readable are due to: 1) it's the refined prose; 2) English dry sense of humor; and 3) utter sincerity of the author on the subject matter.I always harbor certain prejudice towards medical professionals as unfeeling lot who only relate to us, patients merely by our ailments/illness and subsequent case-study for the interns. That's why I almost persuaded that it's not the case, alas this doctor is an exception to the rule.I'm curious to know what's go through
I find this really hard to give a star rating to because I completely disagree with his politics, yet I devoured the book and really enjoyed it - "hate reading" as @gbaker called it. Kind of a guilty pleasure like watching Jeremy Kyle (this book has a lot in common with that show).Anyway, I thought I'd list things that the author doesn't like:IntellectualsModernismThe sexual revolutionGovernmentBureaucratsPolice (well, not the concept, but how they are so politically correct these days)Political
I probably wouldnt have like this book if I had read it in California. I wasnt exactly a bleeding-heart liberal, but I acted outraged when Bill Clinton reformed the welfare system. Only a heartless conservative would be against providing subsistence to the weak and the vulnerable. I had enough compassion in me, like any other yuppie, not to want to see those poor single moms thrown out in the cold. I couldnt believe people had fallen for Ronald Reagans myth of Cadillac-driving welfare queens.
THE BRITISH UNDERCLASSDalrymple's great subject is the underclass he's worked with them for years as a doctor in an inner city area and in prisons, he knows what he's talking about, this is a guy I respect, and he's thrusting before our horrified faces the terrible facts of the matter. He sounds like a right wing git half of the time but maybe I'm turning into a right wing git because mostly I think he's got it dead right but sometimes he's just like a slightly more intellectual Jeremy Clarkson
Life at the Bottom is a point of view from a hospital psychiatrist in the slums of England. He writes of his observations, then his professional opinion on the matter. The book is divided into two parts. The first seems to be based heavily on observation which is then backed by opinion. The second seems to be written in reverse, more heavily based on opinion backed with observation.The doctor takes a conservative stand point, and can sometimes seem cynical in some of his written thoughts. This
Blames the poor for their poverty.A taste of it here: https://www.city-journal.org/html/wha...There's a (white) underclass in England. As it was 100 years ago, described in The People of the Abyss by Jack London, the underclass is people "the work of the world does not need."Unlike in 1905, England's underclass doesn't slowly die of malnutrition, exposure, and overwork in poor houses.England still has welfare.To our current author, it's /because/ of welfare that the lives of the underclass are
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.