Barbara Ehrenreich on Rising Inequality in America

Barbara Ehrenreich

Tags: capitalism, class, inequality, marx/marxism, organizations/occupations/work, theory, Ehrenreich, 06 to 10 mins
Year: 2007
Length: 9:45
Access: YouTube

Summary: This clip is an interview with journalist Barbara Ehrenreich, who discusses the growing gap between the rich and the poor in the United States. In Ehrenreich's estimation, the US is "the most class divided of the industrial countries." The clip works well as a means of underscoring the concept of class inequality in the United States, and is particularly useful because Ehrenreich's conclusions are based on her own experiences as a person who attempted to survive on lower class wages. At six minutes, Moyer asks, "Don't people call you a Marxist?" and in fact the clip works well as a way of opening discussion about whether Marx's ideas of growing class inequality are being realized in the United States. Finally, the 10 minute clip is also a nice addition to classroom discussions dealing with the ideas in Ehrenreich's book, Nickel and Dimed.

Submitted By: Lester Andrist

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