A Review of an Odious Book
“Deaths of Despair: Capitalism and Its’ Future” (Princeton University Press, 2020) by two Princeton economists, who I will not dignify by naming, is the latest in paperweights which adds volume to the evidence that our ivy league schools should be burnt to the ground in the interests of justice.
The book describes how the 65 million non-Hispanic whites without a college degree are the ones doing the dying in this epidemic of ‘deaths of despair’ (suicides, alcohol-related liver disease, and drug overdoses).
In its’ introduction, the authors begin by reaffirming their belief in the positive role of capitalism and globalization, whatever their research actually finds, an unscientific approach which should not surprise us, given the class interests the authors and editors represent, and one which is consistent with the true ideologues’ inability to synthesize information which challenges their quasi-religious faith. The rest of the book continues in much the same way.
From the introduction:
“In the last half century, America (like Britain and other rich countries) has built a meritocracy that we rightly see as a great achievement.”
It must be mentioned that there is no sense of irony; these people actually believe this, because it convenient for those who are successful to believe that they were justly rewarded for their great worth.
They further insult the readers’ intelligence by writing: “The book is about these deaths and about the people who are dying”, yet, aside from one doctor, this reader did not find any personal stories of those who were doing all the dying. I wonder if the authors knew anyone without a college education. Perhaps they thought the idea offensive that they might speak to ‘the help’. Not exactly Studs Terkel.
The authors do describe the material factors which have left this population so vulnerable, from tuition increases, to the decline of union membership, to, crucially, the deindustrialization which was at the heart of globalization. Yet that which they describe has another word, and one which you will not find in the index: neoliberalism. Surely the term has been heard in the halls of Princeton. Also lacking is the insight that the population they describe as being the most decimated by the removal of their productive role, increasing inequality mirrored by decreasing social mobility, and the destruction of their communities is the former industrial proletariat. One might be stunned by the omission of these thoughts if one expected the institutions responsible for reproducing our ruling class to value honest scholarship. Also missing from the index? “debt”.
There is also a large helping of the language of liability in discussing the criminal, base actions of those in medicine who profited from the opiod epidemic, and either an obscuring or dismissive air when it comes to policy and major economic interests at stake, with a few exceptions (The Sacklers).
In the books’ conclusion, the authors write:
“We believe that capitalism is an immensely powerful force for progress and for good, but it needs to serve people and not have people serve it.”
This was not a call for “stakeholder capitalism” or some other such oxy-moronic idea, it was a fundamental confusion as to what capitalism is. A book like this is a powerful reminder of the fantasy-land our upper classes live in, especially those in ideological professions like economics, which masquerades as a hard science for the purposes of justification and mystification. No matter what evidence they are confronted with, even if they compile it themselves, they will forever conclude that the prioritizing of property rights and contract law, privileging the wealthy and the exploiters to the detriment of those who perform the work which allows their leisure is just and good.
A personal note: I have lost seven people close to me from ‘deaths of despair’ in the last decade. I also find myself at risk due to falling within the category most impacted. Therefore, it was not a fun read, to put it mildly. It was the more painful for the rather unserious way it was written, i.e. so that those who generally comprise the readership of what comes out of our elite institutions can sleep at night, free of recrimination or guilt. For the reader looking for a more serious analysis of this phenomenon, I recommend the article “What Can the Health Humanities Contribute to Our Societal Understanding of and Response to the Deaths of Despair Crisis?” in the Journal of Medical Humanities, especially Benjamin Studebaker’s excellent “Five Sources of Despair” segment.
Not a fun subject. For those despairing, look for community; if you can’t find it, make it! And make it without economists, especially those from ivy-smothered leviathans which have churned out generation after generation of remorseless, ruling class ghouls.
About the author:
J. Liam Devitt Is a high-school dropout, a caregiver, and an anti-war organizer who survives on Social Security benefits. He is, then, essentially paid by the U.S. government, and not that of the Russian Federation, as some have speculated while shouting at him, to write about and engage in anti-imperialist politics.
You can help him buy books at buymeacoffee.com/jldevitt