I’ve been noticing a recurring sentiment among Americans - frustration and disillusionment with the economy. Despite having gone to school, earned a solid education, and worked hard, many feel they can’t get ahead or even come close to the standard of living their parents enjoyed.

I’m curious - is this experience unique to the United States, or do people in other countries share similar frustrations?

Do people in Europe, Australia, Canada, or elsewhere feel like they’re stuck in a rut, unable to achieve financial stability or mobility despite their best efforts?

Are there any countries or regions that seem to be doing things differently, where education and hard work can still lead to a comfortable life?

Let’s hear from our international community - what’s your experience with economic mobility (or lack thereof) in your country?"

  • @JubilantJaguar
    5•1 day ago

    Yes, it does seem to be a problem with progressives in recent years, at least in the anglo countries - preferring to talk about abstract ideas of justice and “equity” and group power dynamics etc, rather than engage with what actual poor people are concerned about.

    Policing people’s speech is cheaper than agitating for tax rises and healthcare. Just saying.

    • @[email protected]English
      7•1 day ago

      It’s not just recent. MLK wrote about it in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail in 1963, and he referenced some considerably older sources as well:

      Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood. The purpose of our direct action program is to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.

      And in another section:

      Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals.

      Humans are really good at normalizing things. It takes a lot to push someone from theoretical opposition to direct action. It’s harder to get to that point for those not directly suffering the worst oppressions. Dr. King talks about that too.

      Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

      • @JubilantJaguar
        0•1 day ago

        All fine words no doubt (no irony intended). But for the sake of argument I would argue that we need to give a hearing to everything that poorer people claim to care about, and not just the bits that fit with our priors about what they should want.

        I’ll put it In brutal terms. IMO we need to get the Trump-adjacent masses to vote for higher taxes to pay for macro-things like healthcare (in the US) and redistribution and massive action on the environment. If their price is a tough line on immigration and an end to the constant bellyaching about micro-things like systemic racism and trans rights, then I personally am more than fine with that.