Divided

The Perils of Our Growing Inequality
Edited by:

Over thirty leading economists, journalists, and scholars explore the most urgent issue of our times: the upward redistribution of wealth and income in America

“In a democracy, the civics textbooks tell us, people come together to discuss, debate, and decide solutions to the common problems they face. But this democratic deliberation only works effectively when most people have the same problems in common. In deeply unequal societies, they don’t.”
—Sam Pizzigati, Too Much

The issue of inequality has irrefutably returned to the fore, riding on the anger against Wall Street following the 2008 financial crisis and the concentration of economic and political power in the hands of the super-rich. The Occupy movement made the plight of the 99 percent an indelible part of the public consciousness, and concerns about inequality were a decisive factor in the 2012 presidential elections.

How bad is it? According to Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist David Cay Johnston, most Americans, in inflation-adjusted terms, are now back to the average income of 1966. Shockingly, from 2009 to 2011, the top 1 percent got 121 percent of the income gains while the bottom 99 percent saw their income fall. Yet in this most unequal of developed nations, every aspect of inequality remains hotly contested and poorly understood.

Divided collects the writings of leading scholars, activists, and journalists to provide an illuminating, multifaceted look at inequality in America, exploring its devastating implications in areas as diverse as education, justice, health care, social mobility, and political representation. Provocative and eminently readable, here is an essential resource for anyone who cares about the future of America—and compelling evidence that inequality can be ignored only at the nation’s peril.

Praise

“A potent chronicle of America’s ‘extreme inequality.’”
Kirkus Reviews
“[A] page turner . . . just the kind of spotlight that is needed.”
Counterpunch
Divided reminds us how inequality is one of those rare problems that truly matters to all of us, no matter what our interests or chosen field.”
Salon

News and Reviews

Al Jazeera America

Editor David Cay Johnston discusses the White House's policy on prosecution for corporate fraud for Al Jazeera America

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Editor David Cay Johnston reflects on the state of labor in America today in a Labor Day op-ed for The Philadelphia Inquirer

Washington Post

Divided included in The Fix's Best Political Books of 2014

Counterpunch

Counterpunch's review concludes that Divided is "just the kind of spotlight" needed to change the rules of which inequality is a product

Pages

Goodreads Reviews