Thomas Frank

Becoming a more effective learner and boosting your productivity will help you earn better grades - but it'll also cut down on your study time. This is a short, meaty book that will guide you through ten steps to achieving those goals: Pay better attention in class, Take more effective notes, Get more out of your textbooks, Plan like a general, Build a better study environment, Fight entropy and stay organized, Defeat Procrastination, Study smarter, Write better papers, Make group projects suck less, Whether you're in college or high school, this book will probably help you. But not if you're a raccoon. I want to be very clear about that; if you're a raccoon, please buy a different book. This one will do absolutely nothing for you. How did you even learn to read, anyway?

10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades (While Studying Less)

From the bestselling author of What's the Matter With Kansas, a scathing look at the standard-bearers of liberal politics -- a book that asks: what's the matter with Democrats? It is a widespread belief among liberals that if only Democrats can continue to dominate national elections, if only those awful Republicans are beaten into submission, the country will be on the right course. But this is to fundamentally misunderstand the modern Democratic Party. Drawing on years of research and first-hand reporting, Frank points out that the Democrats have done little to advance traditional liberal goals: expanding opportunity, fighting for social justice, and ensuring that workers get a fair deal. Indeed, they have scarcely dented the free-market consensus at all. This is not for lack of opportunity: Democrats have occupied the White House for sixteen of the last twenty-four years, and yet the decline of the middle class has only accelerated. Wall Street gets its bailouts, wages keep falling, and the free-trade deals keep coming. With his trademark sardonic wit and lacerating logic, Frank's Listen, Liberal lays bare the essence of the Democratic Party's philosophy and how it has changed over the years. A form of corporate and cultural elitism has largely eclipsed the party's old working-class commitment, he finds. For certain favored groups, this has meant prosperity. But for the nation as a whole, it is a one-way ticket into the abyss of inequality. In this critical election year, Frank recalls the Democrats to their historic goals-the only way to reverse the ever-deepening rift between the rich and the poor in America.

Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People?

Listen, Liberal

A look at why the worst economy since the 1930s has brought about the revival of conservatism.

The Hard-Times Swindle and the Unlikely Comeback of the Right

Pity the Billionaire

Looks at advertising during the 1960s, focusing on the relationship between the counterculture movement and commerce.

Business Culture, Counterculture, and the Rise of Hip Consumerism

The Conquest of Cool

Matt Weiland

Gathers articles from The Baffler magazine which offer criticism of the new American cultural order such as the rise of "alternative" culture

Salvos from The Baffler

Commodify Your Dissent

From the prophetic author of the now-classic What’s the Matter with Kansas? and Listen, Liberal, an eye-opening account of populism, the most important—and misunderstood—movement of our time. Rarely does a work of history contain startling implications for the present, but in The People, No Thomas Frank pulls off that explosive effect by showing us that everything we think we know about populism is wrong. Today “populism” is seen as a frightening thing, a term pundits use to describe the racist philosophy of Donald Trump and European extremists. But this is a mistake. The real story of populism is an account of enlightenment and liberation; it is the story of American democracy itself, of its ever-widening promise of a decent life for all. Taking us from the tumultuous 1890s, when the radical left-wing Populist Party—the biggest mass movement in American history—fought Gilded Age plutocrats to the reformers’ great triumphs under Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, Frank reminds us how much we owe to the populist ethos. Frank also shows that elitist groups have reliably detested populism, lashing out at working-class concerns. The anti-populist vituperations by the Washington centrists of today are only the latest expression. Frank pummels the elites, revisits the movement’s provocative politics, and declares true populism to be the language of promise and optimism. The People, No is a ringing affirmation of a movement that, Frank shows us, is not the problem of our times, but the solution for what ails us.

A Brief History of Anti-Populism

The People, No

From the acclaimed author of Listen, Liberal and What’s the Matter with Kansas, a scathing collection of his incisive commentary on our cruel times—perfect for this political moment What does a middle-class democracy look like when it comes apart? When, after forty years of economic triumph, America’s winners persuade themselves that they owe nothing to the rest of the country? With his sharp eye for detail, Thomas Frank takes us on a wide-ranging tour through present-day America, showing us a society in the late stages of disintegration and describing the worlds of both the winners and the losers—the sprawling mansion districts as well as the lives of fast-food workers. Rendezvous with Oblivion is a collection of interlocking essays examining how inequality has manifested itself in our cities, in our jobs, in the way we travel—and of course in our politics, where in 2016, millions of anxious ordinary people rallied to the presidential campaign of a billionaire who meant them no good. These accounts of folly and exploitation are here brought together in a single volume unified by Frank’s distinctive voice, sardonic wit, and anti-orthodox perspective. They capture a society where every status signifier is hollow, where the allure of mobility is just another con game, and where rebellion too often yields nothing. For those who despair of the future of our country and of reason itself, Rendezvous with Oblivion is a booster shot of energy, reality, and moral outrage.

Reports from a Sinking Society

Rendezvous with Oblivion

La 4e de couverture indique : « A la fin des années 1960, la concurrence internationale et la peur du déclassement transforment un populisme de gauche (rooseveltien, conquérant, égalitaire) en un "populisme" de droite faisant son miel de la crainte de millions d'ouvriers et d'employés d'être rattrapés par plus déshérités qu'eux. C'est alors que la question de l'insécurité resurgit. Elle va embourgeoiser l'identité de la gauche, perçue comme laxiste, efféminée, intellectuelle, et prolétariser celle de la droite, jugée plus déterminée, plus masculine, moins "naïve". Cette métamorphose s'accomplit à mesure que l'inflation resurgit, que les usines ferment et que l'"élite", jadis associée aux grandes familles de l'industrie et de la banque, devient identifiée à une "nouvelle gauche" friande d'innovations sociales, sexuelles et raciales. Les médias conservateurs n'ont plus qu'à se déchaîner contre une oligarchie radical-chic protégée d'une insécurité qu'elle conteste avec l'insouciance de ceux que cette violence épargne. Au reste, n'est-elle pas entretenue dans ses aveuglements par une ménagerie de juges laxistes, d'intellectuels jargonnants et autres boucs émissaires rêvés du ressentiment populaire ? "Progressistes en limousine" là-bas ; "gauche caviar" chez nous. »

Pourquoi les pauvres votent à droite

Everything we think we know about populism is wrong. Donald Trump. Brexit. European right-wing extremists. All have been accused of populism. But what does this often thrown about, yet generally misunderstood, term actually mean? The real story of populism is an account of enlightenment and liberation; the story of democracy itself, of its promise of a decent life for us all. Here, acclaimed political commentator Thomas Frank takes us from the emergence of the radical left-wing US Populist Party in the 1890s, through the triumphs of reformers under Roosevelt and Truman, to the present day, reminding us how much we owe to the populist ethos. He pummels the elites, revisits the movement's provocative politics, and declares true populism to be the language of promise and optimism. People Without Poweris a ringing affirmation of a movement that, Frank shows us, is not the problem of our times, but the solution.

The War on Populism and the Fight for Democracy

People Without Power

One of "our most insightful social observers"* cracks the great political mystery of our time: how conservatism, once a marker of class privilege, became the creed of millions of ordinary Americans With his acclaimed wit and acuity, Thomas Frank turns his eye on what he calls the "thirty-year backlash"—the populist revolt against a supposedly liberal establishment. The high point of that backlash is the Republican Party's success in building the most unnatural of alliances: between blue-collar Midwesterners and Wall Street business interests, workers and bosses, populists and right-wingers. In asking "what 's the matter with Kansas?"—how a place famous for its radicalism became one of the most conservative states in the union—Frank, a native Kansan and onetime Republican, seeks to answer some broader American riddles: Why do so many of us vote against our economic interests? Where's the outrage at corporate manipulators? And whatever happened to middle-American progressivism? The questions are urgent as well as provocative. Frank answers them by examining pop conservatism—the bestsellers, the radio talk shows, the vicious political combat—and showing how our long culture wars have left us with an electorate far more concerned with their leaders' "values" and down-home qualities than with their stands on hard questions of policy. A brilliant analysis—and funny to boot—What's the Matter with Kansas? presents a critical assessment of who we are, while telling a remarkable story of how a group of frat boys, lawyers, and CEOs came to convince a nation that they spoke on behalf of the People. *Los Angeles Times

How Conservatives Won the Heart of America

What's the Matter with Kansas?

Brilliantly designed and bursting with an eclectic range of material, the Baffler is a literary journal with a difference, juxtaposing visual images with a dynamic range of writings. From history to poetry, social and political commentary to fiction, THE BAFFLER is the critically acclaimed pubication for all avid followers of contemporary culture.

The Baffler

Chris Lehmann

John Summers

A new collection on carnival hokum and magical thinking in post-apocalypse America—brought to you by The Baffler. There's never been a better time to be outside the consensus—and if you don't believe it, then peer into these genre-defining essays from The Baffler, the magazine that's been blunting the cutting edge of American culture and politics for a quarter of a century. Here's Thomas Frank on the upward-falling cult of expertise in Washington, D.C., where belonging means getting the major events of our era wrong. Here's Rick Perlstein on direct mail scams, multilevel marketing, and the roots of right-wing lying. Here's John Summers on the illiberal uses of innovation in liberal Cambridge, Massachusetts. And here's David Graeber sensing our disappointment in new technology. (We expected teleportation pods, antigravity sleds, and immortality drugs. We got LinkedIn, which, as Ann Friedman writes here, is an Escher staircase masquerading as a career ladder.) Packed with hilarious, scabrous, up to-the-minute criticism of the American comedy, No Future for You debunks “positive thinking” bromides and business idols. Susan Faludi debunks Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg's phony feminist handbook, Lean In. Evgeny Morozov wrestles “open source” and “Web 2.0” and other pseudorevolutionary meme-making down to the ground. Chris Lehmann writes the obituary of the Washington Post, Barbara Ehrenreich goes searching for the ungood God in Ridley Scott's film Prometheus, Heather Havrilesky reads Fifty Shades of Grey, and Jim Newell investigates the strange and typical case of Adam Wheeler, the student fraud who fooled Harvard and, unlike the real culprits, went to jail. No Future for You offers the counternarrative you've been missing, proof that dissent is alive and well in America. Please be warned, however. The writing that follows is polemical in nature. It may seek to persuade you of something. Copublished with The Baffler. Contributors Chris Bray, Mark Dancey, Barbara Ehrenreich, Susan Faludi, Thomas Frank, Ann Friedman, James Griffioen, David Graeber, A. S. Hamrah, Heather Havrilesky, Chris Lehmann, Rhonda Lieberman, Anne Elizabeth Moore, Evgeny Morozov, Jim Newell, Rick Perlstein, John Summers, Maureen Tkacik

No Future for You

An eye-opening account of populism, the most important — and misunderstood — movement of our time. Everything we think we know about populism is wrong. Today, populism is seen as a frightening thing, a term pundits use to describe the racist philosophy of Donald Trump and European extremists. But this is a mistake. The real story of populism is an account of enlightenment and liberation; it is the story of democracy itself, of its ever-widening promise of a decent life for all. Here, acclaimed political commentator Thomas Frank takes us from the US’s tumultuous 1890s, when the radical left-wing Populist Party fought plutocrats, to the triumphs of reformers under Roosevelt and Truman. Frank also shows that elitist groups have reliably detested populism, lashing out at working-class concerns; today’s moral panic in liberal circles is only the latest expression. Frank pummels the elites, revisits the movement’s provocative politics, and declares true populism to be the language of promise and optimism. People Without Power is a ringing affirmation of a movement that, Frank shows us, is not the problem of our times, but the solution.

the war on populism and the fight for democracy

From the author ofWhat's the Matter with America?,here is a jaw-dropping investigation into decades of deliberate and lucrative right-wing misrule in America. In his previous book, Thomas Frank explained why working America votes for politicians who reserve their favours for the rich. Now, inThe Wrecking Crew,Frank examines the blundering and corrupt Washington those politicians have given us. Casting back to the early days of the conservative revolution, Frank describes the rise of a ruling coalition dedicated to dismantling government. But rather than cutting down the big government they claim to hate, conservatives have simply sold it off, turning public policy into a private-sector bidding war. Washington itself has been remade into a golden landscape of super-wealthy suburbs and gleaming lobbyist headquarters-the wages of government-by-entrepreneurship. It is no coincidence, Frank argues, that the same politicians who guffaw at the idea of effective government have installed a regime in which incompetence is the rule. Nor will the country easily shake off the consequences of deliberate misgovernment through the usual democratic remedies. Obsessed with achieving a lasting victory, conservatives have taken pains to enshrine the free market as the permanent creed of state. Stamped with Frank's audacity, analytic brilliance, and wit,The Wrecking Crewis his most revelatory work yet-and his most important.

The American Right and the Lust for Power

The Wrecking Crew

From the pages of The Baffler, the most vital and perceptive new magazine of the nineties, sharp, satirical broadsides against the Culture Trust. In the "old" Gilded Age, the barons of business accumulated vast wealth and influence from their railroads, steel mills, and banks. But today it is culture that stands at the heart of the American enterprise, mass entertainment the economic dynamo that brings the public into the consuming fold and consolidates the power of business over the American mind. For a decade The Baffler has been the invigorating voice of dissent against these developments, in the grand tradition of the muckrakers and The American Mercury. This collection gathers the best of its writing to explore such peculiar developments as the birth of the rebel hero as consumer in the pages of Wired and Details; the ever-accelerating race to market youth culture; the rise of new business gurus like Tom Peters and the fad for Hobbesian corporate "reengineering"; and the encroachment of advertising and commercial enterprise into every last nook and cranny of American life. With its liberating attitude and cant-free intelligence, this book is a powerful polemic against the designs of the culture business on us all.

Commodify Your Dissent: Salvos from The Baffler

Wie konnte es dazu kommen, dass die Millionen verunsicherter Amerikaner einen Milliardär zum Präsidenten gewählt haben, von dem sie wussten, dass er letztlich nichts für sie tun würde? Was ist los mit Amerika? Thomas Frank verfolgt seit Jahren die Veränderungen der amerikanischen Gesellschaft, das Abdriften großer Teile der Bevölkerung in prekäre Verhältnisse, das Erstarken fundamentalistischer Bewegungen, die Erosion der politischen Parteien. Seine Artikel aus den letzten zehn Jahren erzählen die politische Geschichte eines Landes, in dem der amerikanische Traum zu Ende geträumt ist, der Verlust geregelter Arbeit, Schulden, Armut große Teile der Bevölkerung betreffen, die Eliten und die politische Klasse sich vor allem mit sich selbst beschäftigen. Vom Skandal des Energiekonzerns Enron, durch den Tausende von Angestellten ihre Rente verloren, über die Finanzkrise 2008, durch die die Standards der Mittelklasse für die meisten unerreichbar geworden sind, bis zum Versagen der Demokratischen Partei: Am Beispiel Amerikas zeigt Thomas Frank eine gesellschaftliche Entwicklung auf, die – bei allen Unterschieden – ein Warnsignal auch für Europa, auch für Deutschland ist.

Berichte aus einer sinkenden Gesellschaft

Americanic

À la fin des années 1960, la concurrence internationale et la peur du déclassement transforment un populisme de gauche (rooseveltien, conquérant, égalitaire) en un « populisme » de droite faisant son miel de la crainte de millions d’ouvriers et d’employés d’être rattrapés par plus déshérités qu’eux. C’est alors que la question de l’insécurité resurgit. Elle va embourgeoiser l’identité de la gauche, perçue comme laxiste, efféminée, intellectuelle, et prolétariser celle de la droite, jugée plus déterminée, plus masculine, moins « naïve ». Cette métamorphose s’accomplit à mesure que l’inflation resurgit, que les usines ferment et que l’« élite », jadis associée aux grandes familles de l’industrie et de la banque, devient identifiée à une « nouvelle gauche » friande d’innovations sociales, sexuelles et raciales. Les médias conservateurs n’ont plus qu’à se déchaîner contre une oligarchie radical-chic protégée d’une insécurité qu’elle conteste avec l’insouciance de ceux que cette violence épargne. Au reste, n’est-elle pas entretenue dans ses aveuglements par une ménagerie de juges laxistes, d’intellectuels jargonnants et autres boucs émissaires rêvés du ressentiment populaire ? « Progressistes en limousine » là-bas ; « gauche caviar » chez nous. Extrait de la préface de Serge Halimi

« Ce que désire la classe des professionnels bien diplômés, c’est une méritocratie plus parfaite : un système où ceux qui ont du talent peuvent s’élever. Quand on est parvenus à la diversité et que les gens brillants de toutes races et de tous sexes ont été dûment qualifiés, cette espèce de libéral ne peut pas vraiment concevoir d’autres griefs contre le système. Les revendications des travailleurs ordinaires ne les touchent pas : les vigiles, les serveurs de fast-foods, les aides à domicile et les gardes d’enfant – dont la plupart sont des femmes et des personnes de couleur – qui n’ont pas de diplôme universitaire. » Ce livre analyse l’abandon par les « nouveaux démocrates » des classes populaires et des syndicats au profit des classes aisées et cultivées. Il rappelle ce que cette « économie de la connaissance » a coûté aux travailleurs manuels et aux catégories peu diplômées, condamnées à la relégation sociale et à une forme de plus en plus agressive de mépris culturel. Dépréciées par le parti qui leur servait autrefois de véhicule politique, elles sont devenues plus attentives aux thématiques identitaires de démagogues réactionnaires. Comme celui qui vit à la Maison-Blanche.

Thomas Frank

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