Scheer and Quart discuss the middle class and why it is turning into the Precariat, or as Quart puts it, “the hypereducated poor.” They discuss how capitalism and social factors have pushed people to live paycheck to paycheck and unable to afford basic necessities, such as childcare. Scheer directs the conversation at what big corporations are doing to their employees and how the “delusion of a middle class is supported by the people who basically control the narrative… And they’re not experiencing the extreme anxiety of the precariat.”
The interview concludes with Scheer and Quart discussing why people are turning to Democratic Socialism and how this can help make political changes. “For me,” Quart says “saying that it’s not your fault over and over again… is radical self-help, because… when we stop blaming ourselves and accusing ourselves of not doing something right, that’s when we look outward, and that’s when we can start to organize.”
Photo credit: Ash Fox.