Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass

Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass

By: Theodore Dalrymple  

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Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Publisher: Ivan R. Dee, Publisher

Customer Review: 4 out of 5
From An Intellectual Standpoint, the Last Section Saves the Book - Before saying anything else, it is important to make one categorical assertion: Dr. Dalrymple knows how to turn a phrase. Unlike so many writers who churn out semi-literate books, Dalrymple has a gift for writing and expressing ideas. Practically every sentence in this book is a literary masterpiece, which makes his writings a joy to read. However, putting aside sentiments for his writing ability, I think the book is severely weakened by Dalrymple's penchant for anecdotes over dialectical argumentation.

While anecdotes are important in conveying Dalrymple's message - especially given his impressive medical experience in dealing with disadvantaged people - I think that there could have been a lot more supportive argumentation that would aid in both solidifying his points and shattering the canards of the other side. Dalrymple's arguments tend to take the format of using one or two stories from his practical experience that describe a particular phenomenon before closing out the essay on why, given the veracity of these tales, his opinion is correct. Of course these arguments may be superficially compelling to the choir being preached to (of which I am a member of), but they are not going to be extremely effective at garnering intellectual converts.

For example, in "Reader, She Married Him--Alas," Dalrymple makes the argument that it is patently absurd to argue that certain societies are not morally superior to others, and that it is equally as absurd to argue that one can have a society that is not based on cultural or philosophical presuppositions--both of which I wholeheartedly agree with. However, in order to further this argument, he uses a story of an Indian girl who is under an oppressive household that doesn't believe in Western liberal democracy. Although the story is emotionally compelling, it doesn't present substantive points or a robust academic basis to support his argument that Western liberal democracy is superior to oppressive regimes.

Also, through the "Grim Reality" section, the stories began getting a little repetitive. It seemed as though every chapter had a story that featured someone who was "not deficient in intelligence, but undereducated," which got slightly tedious to read about.

Undoubtedly, the strongest section of the book was the last section called "The Grimmers," which focused on criminal justice. For me, this is where Dr. Dalrymple's writing and analysis shines. Jettisoning the anecdotal formula used for the previous essays, Dr. Dalrymple takes the gloves off and really puts massive dents in liberal criminology with solid arguments and reason. His commentary on the normalization of crime by criminologists, the myth of criminal victimization by the criminal justice system, and idiocy of crime being quasi-political protests, was exceptional.

"Life at the Bottom" is an interesting read. I'm sure that those who prefer stories and a literature feel to non-fiction text would think this book is remarkable, while those who are looking for meaty argumentation will enjoy it but will think it leaves a little to be desired. When Dalrymple moves away from arguing with anecdotes, you can see how much of a heavyweight he is as a writer and political mind. Dr. Dalrymple has the potential to be on a par with Dr. Thomas Sowell, but I just wish he'd do away with the anecdotes, which, while well written, erroneously present him to be a lightweight cultural critic.

But for the last section on criminology, I probably would have given this book a two or three-star rating. The last section makes this book compulsory reading, in my humble opinion.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Never before has thoughtful social commentary been this fun to read! - The chapter on New Zealand alone -- a 400-fold increase in crime, accompanied with the usual excuses by criminals and their apologists -- is worth the price of the book. Other great insights include Dalrymple's observation that criminals may not respect the social order, but of them who end up in prison create a very clear social order on the inside. Irving Kristol once said that ideas have consequences. Man do they ever.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
The reality many choose not to face - I've read two of Dalrymple's books now and each follows the same format, a collection of essays which stand by themselves but are organized around a central theme. This book is excellent, but if you're deathly opposed to anecdotal testimony in support of generalized conclusions, you'll be in a constant mental argument with the good author (who is admittedly aware that his approach is not one of rigorous scientific study). That being said, the study of history and society haven't exactly yielded their secrets when pursued in a lab coat. This book takes the approach you would expect from the empirical mind of a good diagnostician.

Dalrymple relates and synthesizes his day in and day out experiences of working at a hospital and prison in an English city. He also lives nearby and so details his experiences as a resident among the "underclass". His insights detail the historical drivers behind the alarming rise in violent and non-violent crimes and provide an explanatory model based on the choices of individuals. He asks a man who abuses his wife and claims he cannot control it because its a disease, "How is it you can control your anger when in public or in front of the police?" From Dalrymple's perspective, the wife beater makes his choices based on what is advantageous to himself, just like any other decision.

The book also focuses on determining how things got to this point, examining the outcomes of government policy, education, immigration, technology and the justice system on the choices of individuals in the underclass - both the positives and the negatives. Unfortunately, mere words in a book cannot convey the misery, desperation and isolation that membership in the underclass conveys. However, Dalrymple does a commendable job and pulls no punches.

Dalrymple's experiences with the poverty stricken began before post-modernism and the deconstructive historical views that became popular after the 1960's. Like other authors in this category, he notes the degenerative effects of the modern state's welfare policies on individuals and families - how the sense of personal responsibility has been severely eroded in this population, the family unit has been destroyed, the value of education and intelligence degraded, and the sense of purpose and self worth provided by religion that has all but disappeared. "Freedom without virtue is a road to misery."

Highly recommended.

Customer Review: 1 out of 5
This book will put you in a sour mood - Author Dalrymple's claims of interviewing 10,000 people at the bottom of life is amusing in that he must have been doing it out of pure morbid curiosity. He hates these people! He has no empathy with his subjects which 1.) makes him a biased interviewer, and 2.) gives him no credibility with the rest of what he is trying to say with this book. I admit that 25% into the book I gave up and started scanning the rest of it to see where he was going with it. It looked like more of the same. This is the sort of book that I won't lend to friends and won't even sell back on Ebay. I'll just toss it in the trash to remove it from circulation!

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Stunning - Dalrymple succinctly puts on the page the niggling questions we've all had at one time or another but were too politically correct to ask. He raises doubts about the direction our society is going; sadly, he offers little in the way of solutions. But we have to start somewhere and considering a different view of long-held truths is a start. This book should be required reading for every journalist, high school student, teacher, politician, social worker and doctor in the country. Actually, EVERYONE should read this book.

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