A Review of Dignity by Chris Arnade
Very few books fundamentally change your outlook on life. Dignity, by Chris Arnade, is one of those books. Chris Arnade is a financier-turned-photographer who became disillusioned with his industry after the 2008–09 financial collapse. He turned to photography. After working at in investment bank in lower Manhattan he would walk towards the poor and forgotten parts of New York — taking pictures and talking with its residents.
He developed a framework to view modern America: The Front Row and Back Row. The Front Row is the overachievers, the ones who sat in the front row of class, got the right credentials and found themselves upwardly mobile in today’s information economy. They tend to migrate towards cities. The other, the back row, are those who didn’t. They either lacked the skills or didn’t value the credentials our new economy required. They were left behind.
Major politicians have spent the last two decades, arguing that our modern economy requires upskilling and movement. It’s an individual’s choice to be left behind. Sure, manufacturing is moving overseas, but so what? We’ll get cheaper socks, and if you’re a factory worker who lost their job, you should learn to code and move to a city. Do “value-added” work.
The problem with this mindset, and one Arnade articulates exceptionally well, is that it fails to account for the immeasurable aspects of life. What if you can’t move? Or you don’t want to? Social networks are incredibly hard to build as an adult. What if all you want is to put in 8-solid hours a day, provide for your family and support your community? These decisions aren’t cut and dry, and despite the common perception, they can’t be measured in an employment report.
I have a feeling that the last thirty years have been the loneliest thirty years in America’s existence. Churches, unions, and other community groups provided people with a sense of belonging. All are now increasingly irrelevant in American life. They’ve been replaced by a cutthroat competition that devalues the average individual’s contribution.
I think part of my appreciation is that, despite being a member of the front-row with multiple degrees, I spent about 10 months of my mid-twenties unemployed. I worked for a small business that went bankrupt. Obviously, being unemployed sucks because you have no idea how you’re going to pay rent. However, it wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was the social stigma attached to it. In America, and especially New York City (where I lived at the time), what you did for a living is a fundamentally part of your identity. I would go to parties and dates and mostly have no identity. It wears at you. You become increasingly isolated. During this time I joined Crossfit. Despite being unemployed I still spend $200 a month on exercise. Why? It gave me a sense of belonging. Meaning. Without it, I’m not sure how I would have coped.
Arnade shows, through photographs and narrative, that this cycle has destroyed entire communities. We’ve managed to individualize a structural problem, and the result is an onslaught of depression and despair. Thirty years ago, rural communities had keystone manufacturers that provided meaning for an area. Now people make minimum wage at Dollar General. Sure, they could move, but where? Who would they watch football with? Where would they go to church? What about child care?
But hey, they can buy cheap socks!
Obama famously said that de-industrialization meant that rural people increasingly clinging to guns and religion. He said it in a somewhat disparaging way. At the time, I agreed with him. I thought that if people are struggling, they should get new skills or better their life — not cling to the past.
Chris Arnade’s book made me re-think this entire paradigm, which is about the biggest compliment you can give a book.
