Now, before you chuck your non-fat latte at the next table’s lap dog, please hear me out. And to get there, first understand that the title premise of Coming Apart might even find appeal for those on the left. The central thesis is that a new upper class has formed that is isolated in more ways and more so than ever before. Because of that and other factors the working class has suffered. Doesn’t this sound like a familiar 1% argument that we’ve heard so much about in recent years? It’s not quite that simple, though. The rich taking from the poor doesn’t begin to explain this very nuanced phenomenon.
The transformation began when college educations started to become more common in the 1950’s. Also, intelligence became more valued in the workplace and with these two factors both intelligence and financial success became consolidated in the same demographic. Murray explores the direction marriages went, becoming less educationally diverse and with more IQ similarity. In short, smart men and women began going to college in large numbers, meeting, and marrying; eventually consolidating smarts and money and passing these advantages on to their children.
This arrangement might seem commonplace today, but that wasn’t always the case prior to the mid 20th century. There has certainly always been an uber elite, but the top 20% of Americans used to look much more like those in other classes. People married earlier. If someone went to college, often their spouse did not. Pre 1960’s Americans largely shared the same tastes, food, cars, home geography, leisure activities, literature, family structures, ethics, education, language, and a dedication to religious and civic events. Now, the new upper class, which in some ways resembles more of a European aristocracy than a product of American culture, embraces increasingly distinct differences from their working class counterparts.
Before you surmise that this is an indictment of the wealthy, please note that Murray reaches no such conclusion. His contention is that this new, pronounced alienation between upper and working class has damaged those demographics and society as a whole. The upper class benefits from the working class’s influence to remain grounded in the realities and the simplicities of common American life, but the new working class is in dire need to follow some of the examples of the more affluent.
In other words, the modern working class has fallen way, way behind since the 1960’s in so many varieties, while the upper class has faltered at times but generally stabilized. This is where much of Murray’s exhaustive data comes into play. I would like to apologize in advance for the extent of the following list, but I think it’s necessary to show how undeniably damaged working class society has become over the last 40 years. These changes are thoroughly graphed throughout the book. (Note that all of the numerical comparisons are usually drastic and proportional to the times, covering circa 1963 though circa 2008) In all of these ways the statistics demonstrate the incredible regression that’s been suffered in working class America: A drop in marriage, rise in percentage of singles, rise in divorce, decrease in happy marriages, decrease of happiness overall, rise in single parenthood, decrease of children living with both parents, decrease in male work participation, increase in unemployment participation, men working fewer hours, increase in those dropping out of the workforce altogether, fewer unmarried women working, fewer women working overall, more men going to prison, more bankruptcies, lower participation in civic minded church activities, lower church attendance overall, increase in those not able to make a living, decrease in civic involvement, and a decrease in voter participation. In addition, PTA participation, entertaining at home, families eating dinner together, common trust of others, opinions of other’s fairness, and confidence in other’s potential to help are all down.
Again, all of these indicators are proportional to population sizes over the years and mostly relate just to the working class. While the new upper class has had its share of troubles, it has somewhat bounced back from its downturns. However, these regressions have been felt in varying amounts all across the board. These indicators are thoroughly charted in Coming Apart, illustrating the gradual losses and the differences between these demographics.
Murray categorizes these downtrends in the quality of the American life by examining the changed behavior and attitudes towards four aspects of traditional society in the USA: Industriousness, honesty, marriage, and religiosity. Many of the indicators listed previously can fit into at least one of these four categories and comprise what he considers to be the essential founding virtues of, what he calls, the American Project. There are many ingredients in early America, some indigenous, some not, but he argues that no logical observer of the time would admit probable success of American society without these elements. It’s clear from Murray’s data and anecdotal research that working class behavior has changed considerably when it comes to these founding virtues.
Industriousness, long a hallmark of our nation’s heritage, prompting nearly every able bodied man to make the most of his day, has lost its luster in the modern era, producing a growing number of adults that consider work naïve and almost gullible. In this age of nearly nonstop calls for job creation, one can’t help but wonder if many unemployed working class Americans would even care to show up if there were additional opportunities available.
The second virtue, honesty, has taken substantial hits, too. Considered by our founding fathers the most important of our values. It was thought that what separated the American Revolution from others taking place in Europe was the desire for honesty. Murray explores the explosion in the prison population and the sharp increase in bankruptcies to support the notion that honesty has regressed in working class America. His point is further solidified through surveys taken during previous decades that show a growing lack of trust in their neighbors.
Then there’s marriage, the most basic of societal structures, laying the foundations of just about every civilization to walk the planet--or as Cicero put it, “The first bond of society”. Murray reiterates the well-known science on marriage, emphasizing the empirical fact that, categorically, the best children are bred from lifelong male/female marriages. There’s not even a close runner up. What we also know is that divorce rates, cohabitation, and single parenting have surged since the 1960’s--across all demographic lines. What I found new is how central marital fidelity has historically been in America, distinct from other parts of the world. Several sources reveal that a happy marriage was closely tied to happiness itself in America and therefore the oaths related to marital fidelity were more commonly fulfilled than elsewhere. Murray’s data proves the connection between marriage and happiness and even goes so far as to conclude that the benefits of a happy marriage far outweigh the downsides of an unhappy marriage. Again, this is all charted for simple digestion.
The last of the author’s founding virtues is religiosity. Like marriage, this is a virtue that has suffered some horrible outcomes with its devaluation in both demographics. Church attendance has suffered dramatically, which I don’t think comes as a surprise to anyone. What is striking is the level of happiness that is expressed in surveys of those that regularly attend and contribute in some way to their religious institutions. Another central theme throughout the book is the importance of what’s called “social capital”. Simply put, this is social interaction that makes a contribution to a community and society. It just so happens that religious life has traditionally been an effective avenue for creating those benefits. This reminds me of the worn out idea I’ve heard from so many of my peers when it comes to practicing religion. Inevitably, for whatever reason, they’ll express their unwillingness to practice faith in a traditional setting, opting for some type of ambiguous, private spirituality. Unfortunately, the data in Coming Apart shows that approach actually limits one’s level of happiness and in general decreases the social capital contributed to one’s surroundings. At any rate, the result of the gradual deficiencies of the four founding virtues is well documented.
The causes, however, are a bit more difficult to pin down. One reason, especially in light of how dramatically the working class is unproportionally affected, is the drastic transformation the welfare state has had on the motivations of the people. The idea being that your desire to achieve is stifled when your needs and wants are met without any personal effort. Eventually, the value of a day’s work and the incentive to sacrifice and risk more begins to erode and complacency sets in. Before you know it, the social structures we’ve traditionally relied on and flourished within (work, church, community, family) take a back seat to government agencies that simply send out checks. The problem is that it’s not only about providing the resources to sustain life, but also the growth that comes along with individually earning these resources. In other words, it’s not the bank account that makes the man, but all those experiences and social capital put forth that contribute to that bank account that have such a substantial impact.
Another conclusion, that’s not to be overlooked, is that the founding virtues are a framework for self-governing, the essential other half of a limited constitutional government. In short, the founders knew that the American Project wouldn’t work without people being, simply put, good. Ben Franklin said, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need for masters.” I hope you’ll agree that these themes get at the heart of the problems in this country today, exposing the nuances of human nature and the obtuse segregation of the practical from the righteous. David Brooks called Coming Apart the most important book of the year. I believe that to be a gross understatement.
