Elites and the Jobless: What Comes Next?
Location: Strand Books
828 Broadway (@E. 12th Street), NY
This is a paid event: guests must purchase a copy of Not Working or a $10 Strand gift card to attend.
Please join Demos and Strand for a straight up, unflinching look at what’s going on in this country. What are the prospects for upward mobility in this uncertain moment?
Business and political elites have distanced themselves — socially, economically, politically — from the vast majority of everyday people in this country, who are experiencing extreme economic stagnancy, and worse: downward mobility. This discussion will hold a mirror to our times, showing us the individuals behind the unemployment statistics — their fears and hopes — and offering a map for navigating our changing economy. Two new powerful books, Twilight of the Elites and Not Working, provide fresh investigations of two groups on both ends of America’s deep crisis: elites and the jobless. This conversation will zero in on the pressing issues dominating our economic and political life: joblessness, elites, failure, and merit. From both sides’ experiences, missteps, and predicaments, much should be learned.
Demos Senior Fellow Rich Benjamin will moderate.
About the Authors: |
|
 |
Chris Hayes’ Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy examines the composition and nature of 21st century US elites, as well as the crisis of authority in America. Hayes hosts the weekend MSNBC morning show, “Up w/ Chris Hayes.” Hayes is also an MSNBC contributor and Editor-at-Large of The Nation. Prior to joining MSNBC as an anchor, Chris had previously served as a frequent substitute host for “The Rachel Maddow Show” and “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.” He is a former Fellow at Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics. |
 |
DW Gibson is the author of the critically acclaimed, Not Working: People Talk About Losing a Job and Finding Their Way in Today's Changing Economy. Inspired by Studs Terkel's Working and by James Agee and Walker Evans' Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, Gibson set off in 2011 on a journey across the United States to interview Americans who lost their jobs. The hardscrabble, inspiring, informative stories revealed in this project play an unexpected role in confronting our economic challenges. Gibson’s other work has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Observer, The Daily Beast, BOMB, and The Caravan. He has been a contributor to NPR’s All Things Considered and worked on documentaries for the A&E Television Network and MSNBC. Gibson is completing a companion documentary for Not Working. Gibson serves as director of Writers Omi at Ledig House in Ghent, New York, which is part of the Omi International Arts Center. |
About the Moderator: |
|
 |
Rich Benjamin is the author of Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America, winner of a 2009 Editor's Choice Award from Booklist and the American Library Association. A Senior Fellow at Demos, Rich delves into social and political issues regularly in the media, including for The New York Times, NPR, MSNBC, Fox News, CSPAN, and Salon. |