New book tackles dichotomy of American life
Sociology Professor John Brueggemann is the author of a new book titled Rich, Free, and Miserable.
Released in late July by Rowman & Littlefield, the book expands upon Brueggemann's "sociology of every-day experience" to analyze the jarring contrasts of American life: despite apparent vast wealth (even in the current Great Recession), many Americans are deeply miserable at work, home, or both.
Brueggemann's view is that market thinking has permeated every aspect of American life, reducing hospital patients to entries on a balance sheet, and creating workplaces in which parents must be present and perform, even if it means missing the family dinner or a child's school event/athletic contest. The pursuit of more and better has deleterious effects: relationships erode, to the detriment of individuals, communities, and the nation.
In an accessible style, Brueggemann illustrates how the market has permeated all corners
of American life, leading to decreased confidence in core institutions, increased
anxiety and debt, and a breakdown in personal relations.
One scholar, Robert Bellah of the University of California at Berkeley, wrote: "Brueggemann points out that market pressures undermine moral commitments dear to liberals, such as social justice, and moral commitments dear to conservatives, such as personal loyalty and responsibility. He suggests the possibility of a civil discussion across ideological divides to think about how we can resist longstanding pressures that undermine the moral life of all of us. It is a badly needed book and deserves a wide audience."
Daily Gazette reporter Sara Foss recently interviewed Brueggemann about his book. Click here to read her story.