Scroogism?

 “Under the Affluence – Shaming the Poor, Praising the Rich and Sacrificing the Future of America,” by Tim Wise, 2015

If you think the title is going to tell you about consumerist 'affluenza' you'd be wrong. It is really a detailed sociological study of proletarian poverty, in both its color caste and class varieties. It is somewhat dated, as it uses popular references that were current in 2015 prior to Trump's victory and the rise of semi-fascist forces. Wise was known as a commentator on structural racism, but moves to a class analysis in this book, incorporating racism in his analysis of the U.S. class structure. But do you think he mentions capitalism, socialism, social-democracy or even a transitional program to target poverty? No. He's the typical outraged left-liberal who, instead of the culture of cruelty, believes in some kind of 'culture of compassion.' The key is 'a better vision' for America. This vague psychological and political framing is typical of people who have no grasp of economics and in this case, earn their living by not recognizing capital's effect on the color line and the class line.

Wise, born in Nashville, cut his political teeth in Tulane campus struggles against apartheid, then versus David Duke and later the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. He's now a paid 'anti-racism' consultant. There are plenty of writers, professors and even activists who are in his camp. As a result this book has little to offer unless you are specializing in low-paid workers, the un-housed, the disabled and unpaid caretakers – i.e. poverty sociology. It is loaded with statistics and arguments defending TANF, Medicaid, SNAP, Section 8, EITC, WIC, public housing, aid programs and government food banks. He points out that while Johnson's 'war against poverty' was dropped, poverty actually went down in the U.S. after these programs. So there is a government aid patchwork to defend here. Wise understands that racism divides the working class and yet racism, following Dubois, also pays a 'psychological wage' to some white workers. He barely discusses how racism, by extension, also underpays white workers, such as keeping unions out of the South.

Over the whole book is the spectre, not of communism, but of Charles Dickens, Scrooge and Tiny Tim. In effect 'Dickensian' is now a description of attitudes toward - and conditions for - low-paid proletarians in the U.S., especially dark-skinned ones. Capital returning to its roots in squalor so to speak. He borrows MLK and John Edwards' theme about 'two Americas,' spends a lot of time on inequality and corporate welfare and even hits out at Obama – though most of his ire is directed against Republicans and FOX commentators. He disassembles the bogus 'culture of poverty' ideology, declaims the false meritocracy and rails against racism. All quite familiar on the liberal-left. It finally dawns on Wise that 'Scroogism' - looking down the class ladder - has been the main current in the U.S. since its founding. Overall, the rich are the real takers and the workers are the real makers – the reverse of the libertarian Freakonomics nonsense of 'I built this.'

Solutions to this mess? Again, no program to achieve political power or 'self-determination' in his phraseology. He says the left has to go beyond protest and mass movements with a “clear-counter narrative, a story-line.” Yet his story-line of a 'culture of compassion' does not reach into the economic bowels of the profit motive, the basis of the whole system of 'Scroogism.' It's as if the whole problem is psychological, as if everyone needs a course in empathy. He is for automatic provision of 'food, shelter and medical care' but has no idea how that can be done in this profit-oriented society. The assumption is through charity or government programs, but he is not explicit even in that. He's against any concept of revolution or self-defense. So we're left with … what?

Scrooge was redeemed by becoming a kind capitalist, giving Bob Crachit the day off and showering a turkey on Tiny Tim. I suspect that is Wise's real aim. It is also why he's still talking about 'Redeeming Scrooge' - so here we're not much beyond the early liberalism of Charles Dickens. Looking for sociological facts, not slanders, on poverty and poverty-programs, this book will be very informative. Looking to eliminate poverty permanently, create relative equality, crush the roots of racism or rid the world of a class of exploiters and wreckers? It will not.

Prior blog reviews on this subject, use blog search box, upper left, to investigate our 16 year archive, using these terms: “Poverty? What is it Good For?” “The Lie of Global Prosperity,” “Toward Freedom” (Toure Reed); “U.S. Cities With the Lowest Life Expectancy,” “The Lower Depths” (Gorky); “Famished Road” (Okri); “What's Hidden in Rural Areas?”

And I got it at May Day's Excellent and Cheap Used/Cut-out section!

The Cultured Marxist

December 28, 2023