Fear of Falling: The Inner Life of the Middle Class

308 Pages·1989·22.722 MB·English

by  Barbara Ehrenreich

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"Barbara Ehronreich is one of our indispensable social critics and this
book is, pardon the expression, a class act—a "enchant and in..-
nious argument about the fairy tales the middle class tolls itself."
Todd Giflin
”Barbara Ehrenroich has an astonishing way of coming up with fresh
perspectives on issues that lie close to the heart of American culture—
in this case, American notions of class. She has taken on nothing less
fhan ihe consirucfion and reconsiruciion of American socieiy in pop-
ular discourse. Like The Hearts of Men, this book is witty, provoca-
tive, and illuminating."
Frances FitzGoraild
"Fear of Falling is full of insights, carried off with verve and w.
Ehrenreich has an eye for the telling detail, and her analysis of
consumerism is sharp and true. I think she lets liberals oif too lightly,
but even when I'm at odds with Ehrenreich, I admire the vigor at her
mind."
Christopher Lasch
”In this penetrating analysis, Ehrenreich shows how the anxieties of
class have distorted American political culture. An enormous confli-
bufion to understanding our contemporary dilemma."
Frances Fox Piven
”As earlier in her Hearts of Men; Barbara E‘hrenroich writes with mug-
nificent verve and unusual percepfiveness. Her vision of the relation-
ship between middle and working classes in American society is
original and persuasive. She knows how to be scathing, analytical,
and deeply affecting in turn."
Albert 0. Hirschmn
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loss is no longer America's dirty little
secret. In the last three decades, Ameri-
cans have "discovered” the poor, the
working class, the new class, the un-
derclass. But little attention has been
paid to the people who have done
the "discovering”—the professionals,
media personnel, managers, and intel-
lectuals—who make up America's real
middle class. In Fear of Falling, Barbara
Ehrenreich dissects the inner life of this
class—from the liberal elite of the six-
ties to the yuppies of the eighties—and
reveals, for the first time, the enormous
power it wields over our culture and
our very self-image as a people.
Drawing on a rich variety of sources—
from films and child-rearing manuals
to the thousands of "class cues" built
into our clothing, furniture, shopping
habits, and tastes—Ehrenreich exposes
the preiudices that shape the way we
see or fail to see each other. With dev-
astating wit and insight, she shatters
myth after myth: the myth of middle-
class permissiveness (no class is harder
on its young); the myth of hard-hat
conservatism (the working class is
more liberal than the middle class); the
myth of yuppie hedonism (no group is
more guilt-ridden and puritanical—for
them, consumption is a new form of
work). And she traces these myths to
(continued on back flap)
(continued from front flap)
their roots in the ambitions and anxi-
eties that torment the middle class, and
that have led to its retreat from a re-
sponsible leadership role.
Original, bold, and controversial,
Fear of Falling holds up a mirror to our
ever more divided and unequal soci-
ety, and it challenges the middle class
to be the intellect and conscience of
America.
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Barbara Ehrenreich is the author of
numerous books, including The Hearts
of Men (hailed as "brilliant" by the
New York Times). Her essays and arti-
cles have appeared in the Washington
Post, the New York Times Magazine, the
Atlantic, the Nation, and the New Re-
public, and she is currently a regular
columnist for Ms. magazine and Mother
Jones. She lives on Long Island with her
husband and two children.
Jacket illustration by Mirko llic’
Jacket design by Chris Welch
Pantheon Books, New York
8/89 Printed in the U.S.A. (ca 1989 Random House, Inc.
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F E A R O F
F A L L I N G
ALSO BY BARBARA EHRENREICH
The Hearts of Men: American Dreams and the
Flight from Commitment
Re-Making Love: The F eminization of Sex
(with Elizabeth Hess and Gloria Jacobs)
For Her Own Good: 150 Years of Advice to
Women (with Deirdre English)
Witches, Midwives, and Nurses: a History of
Women Healers (with Deirdre English)
Complaints and Disorders: The Sexual Politics
of Sickness (with Deirdre English)
The Mean Season: The Attack on the Welfare
State (with Fred Block, Richard A. Cloward,
and Frances Fox Piven)
THEINNER LIFE OF
THE MIDDLE CLASS
BARBARA EHRENREICH
m
PANTHEON BOOKS
New York
Copyright © 1989 by Barbara Ehrenreich
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. Published in the United States by Pantheon Books, a
division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in
Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to thefollowingfor permission to
reprint previously published material:
The American Scholar: Excerpt from “Confessions of a Reluctant
Yuppie” by Peter Baida. Reprinted from The American Scholar, vol.
55, no. 1 (Winter 1985/86). Copyright © 1985 by Peter Baida. By
permission of the publisher.
The New York Times: Excerpt from “By Land and Air They Got to
the Forbeses" by Patricia L. Browne, May 30, 1987. Copyright © 1987
by the New York Times Company. Reprinted by permission.
Newsweek, I nc.: Excerpt from “Troubled Americans” from the Octo-
ber 6, 1969, issue ofNewsweek. Copyright © 1969 by Newsweek, Inc.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Simon 1: Schuster, Inc.: Excerpt from DO IT! by Jerry Rubin. Copy-
right © 1970 by Social Education Foundation. Reprinted by permis-
sion of Simon 6: Schuster, Inc.
The Washington Post: Excerpts from “What’s With Americans?” by
Walt Harrington from the July 26, 1987 issue of the Washington Post.
Copyright © 1987 by the Washington Post. Reprinted by permission.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-lN-PUBLICATION DATA
Ehrenreich, Barbara.
Fear of falling: the inner life of the middle Class/
by Barbara Ehrenreich.
p. cm.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-394-55692-5
1. Middle classes—United States—Attitudes. I. Title.
HT690.U6E47 1989
305.5'5'0973 88-43202
Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica
First Edition
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments vii
INTRODUCTION
THE CLASS IN THE MIDDLE
CHAPTER ONE
AFFLUENCE, DREAD, AND THE DISCOVERY
OF POVERTY 3
:
The Problem of Problemlessness 19
Sociology and the Specter of Class 22
The Blight of Affluence 29
The Sources of Dread 34
Feminism and “Progressive Demoralization” 38
Poverty Discovered 42
Infantilizing the Poor 48
CHAPTER TWO
THE MIDDLE CLASS ON THE DEFENSIVE 57
The Threat of the Left 59
The Intellectual Backlash 64
“Permissiveness” Enters Politics 68
The Youth Revolt as Class Treason 75
The Professions as Class Fortress 78
Middle-Class Childraising: Ambivalence and Anxiety 82
The Revenge of the Lower Class 9 l