Everyone finds justification for his or her views in logic and analysis, but a personal philosophy often emerges from some archaic part of the mind, an early idea of how the world should be.
George PackerRead
Abstract sympathy with the working class as an economic entity is easy, but the feeling can vanish on contact with actual members of the group, who often arrive with disturbing beliefs and powerful resentments - who might not sound or look like people urban progressives want to know.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Understanding the working class can be difficult when personal interactions reveal complex and unsettling realities.
This quote by George Packer highlights the disconnect that often exists between abstract sympathy for the working class and the reality of engaging with individuals from that group. While it is easy to express support for the working class as a whole, personal encounters can challenge those beliefs, revealing deep-seated resentments and beliefs that may not align with one's own values or expectations. This underscores the importance of genuine engagement and understanding over simplistic solidarity.
Themes
Working ClassEmpathySocial IssuesUnderstandingDisconnect
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about social equity, this quote can illustrate the challenges of truly connecting with different economic classes.
More from George Packer
All quotes →Ideology knows the answer before the question has been asked. Principles are something different: a set of values that have to be adapted to circumstances but not compromised away.
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At the heart of the matter is a battle between wish and fear. Fear generally proves stronger than a wish, but it leaves a taste of disappointment on the tongue.
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As America has grown less economically equal, a citizen's ability to move upward has fallen behind that of citizens in other Western democracies. We are no longer the country where anyone can become anything.
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The invisibility of work and workers in the digital age is as consequential as the rise of the assembly line and, later, the service economy.
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Even while writing about foreign places, I have been in a way writing about America, because that's the subject that interests me the most. I'm attached to it, critical, but it's definitely my country, and maybe even more so when I'm overseas.
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