The Chauffeur's Dilemma

I was reading Michael Lally's latest post on his blog concerning the absence of any significant working class/middle class outrage at the widening disparity between the rich and poor in this country. It reminded me of one of the most perceptive and accessible essays I have ever read on the subject: The Chauffeur's Dilemma by Arlie Hochschild.

Here are the first two paragraphs of the essay:

Let's consider our political moment through a story. Suppose a chauffeur drives a sleek limousine through the streets of New York, a millionaire in the backseat. Through the window, the millionaire spots a homeless woman and her two children huddling in the cold, sharing a loaf of bread. He orders the chauffeur to stop the car. The chauffeur opens the passenger door for the millionaire, who walks over to the mother and snatches the loaf. He slips back into the car and they drive on, leaving behind an even poorer family and a baffled crowd of sidewalk witnesses. For his part, the chauffeur feels real qualms about what his master has done, because unlike his employer, he has recently known hard times himself. But he drives on nonetheless. Let's call this the Chauffeur's Dilemma.

Absurd as it seems, we are actually witnessing this scene right now. At first blush, we might imagine that this story exaggerates our situation, but let us take a moment to count the loaves of bread that have recently changed hands and those that soon will. Then, let's ask why so many people are letting this happen.

Tom says read the whole article, especially in this "holiday" season.