Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass Paperback – March 8, 2003

On the back of the book it says, "Dr. Dalrymple's key insight is that long-term poverty is caused not by economics but by a dysfunctional
set of values, one that is continually reinforced by an elite culture searching for victims." (It's set in the UK.)

In our country, the left blames the country for all the wrong in the world instead of their own policies, which also invented poverty here. A major part of the book details the personal lives of the underclass and also criticizes UK government policies. A little depressing. Written
with the insight you would expect from a doctor. What A Book.

Since it's release date, America has many parallels with the tapestry woven in this recount. 'A warning, not a playbook.' comes to mind. Can be heavy on vocabulary comprehension, I will be reading this many more times.

Thought provoking social commentary particularly about social class and culture, I ended it with more questions than answers....Dalrymple, a psychiatrist who treats the poor, reflects on culture and class. A clue as to his perspective, "The idea that one is not an agent but the helpless victim of circumstances, or of large occult sociological or economic forces, does not come naturally. . . most of the social pathology exhibited by the underclass has its origin in ideas that have filtered down from the intelligentsia" (p. x). He proceeds with a series of essays illustrating this point in a variety of ways.

A good read for those interested in class, culture, pop-culture, and worldview

In this fascinating collection of essays, Dr. Dalrymple proposes a compelling thesis. Over the last twenty-five years a new type of underclass has emerged in western societies, an underclass that uses the welfare system in all its forms, subsidised housing, free by-weekly pay checks, child support and free medical benefits. From a liberal political standpoint, this support for the nation's "have nots" is a compassionate gesture to take care of its own poor. One would logically assume that providing the poor with life's essentials would bring the crime rate down and provide incentive for these people to further their standing in society. In fact, as Dalrymple proposes, it has had an opposite effect: crime in his native England has skyrocketed; drug use is at an all time high and domestic violence is a wide spread common occurrence. Why? Liberal values not economics has created individuals that deny any responsibility for their own lives, it is always the rich, the government or societies institutions that is to blame, thus crime continues to rise while England's Welfare State has grown into an unwieldy Goliath.

Dalrymple has worked in numerous countries and has been an attending physician and psychiatric consultant in London's prisons for many years. Thus his thesis is not born from some abstract social theory about human behaviour. He has treated thousands of victims of domestic violence, consulted thousands of prisoners who have been incarcerated for petty crime to murder. The common thread that runs through all these cases is a pathological denial of responsibility for their own circumstances or conditions.

As Dalrymple explains:

"Like so many modern ills, the coarseness of spirit and behaviour grows out of ideas brewed up in the academy and among intellectuals - ideas that have seeped outward and are now having their practical effect on society. The relativism that has ruled the academy for many years has now come to rule the mind of the population." (P.85)

In other words, this post modern notion that there is no high and low art, no good and bad, no subtlety and crudeness, only relative perspectives; taking this further, our behaviour too is not individually determined, but society and its oppressive inequalities that make me who I am, and a biological predisposition which causes me to steal from the old lady next door, beat my wife beyond recognition and consume drugs and alcohol like there is no tomorrow. The trickling down of these academic theories, biological determinism, Marxism and the post modern theory that there are no levels of hierarchical values, only difference, has created an underclass of victims who believe they should get something for nothing and commit crime because society has created them as victims as self-determinism does not exist.

Dalrymple provides numerous real life examples from his practice working in a hospital in London. His writing style is straight forward, at times literary but never sentimental. The arguments in these essays are persuasive and push the reader to examine the underlying modern ideologies that have created and sustain a well provided for underclass of criminal "victims".

The parallels between the systemically poor in England and the United States are frightening. Being separated by an ocean, and coming from vastly different ethnic backgrounds, the similar outcomes of the two groups speak of a common cause. Is compassion itself a contributing factor in generations of poverty? No matter your preconceptions, this book will challenge you.

This is an excellent review of the problem of poverty. It is carefully researched and authoritative, but an unexpected surprise is its refreshing humor. The predominant ethnic group will surprise the reader. The short list of the predominant causes of personal failure is a guide for life. Avoid these mistakes if you want success!

This book should be a required read in college sociology, criminal justice and political science classes. Eye opening! A great companion to the work of economist Thomas Sowell. Critical read indeed!

Got this book after reading a recommendation by Dr. Thomas Sowell. Heres what I took from the information:

1. Society has turned from feeling gratitude to those that try to help to one that is beligerant if you don't provide everything. Compounded with "you are violating my rights".
2. Those at the bottom don't really want your help, just your money.
3. There's an excuse for every behavior.
4. Bad decisions followed by more bad decisions is a never ending cycle.
5. How can you spend so much $$ on tattoos and piercings and then complain you have no money for food?
6. Stop having babies if you can't take care of yourself!