Downward Cycle

Maia Szalavitz examines "how rising inequality increases physical and geographical segregation by class, which then reduces cross-class contact and decreases the ability to interact and empathize. Less empathy then fosters greater political polarization and justification of inequality, which in turn causes the cycle to repeat."

It all starts with the psychology concept known as the “fundamental attribution error”. This is a natural tendency to see the behavior of others as being determined by their character – while excusing our own behavior based on circumstances.

For example, if an unexpected medical emergency bankrupts you, you view yourself as a victim of bad fortune – while seeing other bankruptcy court clients as spendthrifts who carelessly had too many lattes. Or, if you’re unemployed, you recognize the hard effort you put into seeking work – but view others in the same situation as useless slackers. Their history and circumstances are invisible from your perspective.

The result is a clear trend for the so-called American Dream.

[H]ard work and a good education used to be a sure bet for upward mobility in the US – at least among some groups of people. Americans born in the 1940s had a 90% chance of doing better economically than their parents did – but those born in the 1980s have only 50/50 odds of doing so.

Update (July 12):  David Brooks discovers structural inequality. (Spoiler--he's no Thomas Merton.)

Update (July 13):  Donald Jeffries says that inequality doesn't just happen.

There is a class war going on all right, and it’s been going on for a long, long time. It’s been a one-sided war, with those being relentlessly attacked apparently unaware that there is a war. Sure, they might wonder why annual raises are no longer part of what we are told is the “new normal.” Neither are pensions, vacation and sick leave, or any other traditional perks for an increasing number of workers. They also may grumble, among themselves, about the huge bonuses their bosses are getting, and perhaps even notice how seldom they seem to be doing anything at all to justify their outrageous salaries. But while they scratch their heads in confusion, they appear reluctant to identify the enemy who is waging war on them as surely as any military force ever has. This class war is being waged by the wealthy, against the rest of us.