When Bad Things Happen to Privileged People: Race, Gender, and What Makes a Crisis in America

Dara Z. Strolovitch's book "When Bad Things Happen to Privileged People" examines the political use of the term "crisis" and its implications for power and marginalization in the United States. She argues that racial justice activists innovated the language of crisis to transform racism into a policy problem, but dominant political actors later seized on it to compel state power, often exacerbating inequality and injustice. Understanding crisis politics is crucial to understanding the politics of racial, gender, and class inequalities in the early twenty-first century.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 06 July 2023
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

A profound and insightful exploration of crisis politics and their profound implications for power and marginalization in the United States.

From the climate crisis to the opioid crisis to the Coronavirus crisis, the language of crisis permeates contemporary American politics and policymaking, seemingly omnipresent. However, it is crucial to recognize that there exist numerous equally severe problems that do not receive the same designation of crisis. Why has the term "crisis" been selectively applied to certain issues while remaining absent from others? What does the term "crisis" signify, and what role does it play in shaping political discourse?

In her book, When Bad Things Happen to Privileged People, Dara Z. Strolovitch delves into the pervasive political vernacular of crisis. Through meticulous systematic analyses, Strolovitch uncovers the evolution of the term "crisis" as it is used by both political elites and outsiders. She sheds light on the notion of "crisis" in contemporary politics, revealing that it is, in itself, a political operation. Strolovitch demonstrates how racial justice activists innovated the language of crisis to challenge the notion of racism as an inherent and intractable phenomenon, instead portraying it as a policy problem that could be addressed and remedied.

Subsequently, dominant political actors embraced the language of crisis to exert state power, often with unintended consequences. These actions often exacerbated rather than alleviated racial, gender, and class inequalities. In this enlightening and crucial book, Strolovitch underscores the importance of understanding crisis politics in comprehending the politics of racial, gender, and class inequalities in the early twenty-first century.

Dimension: 229 x 152 x 30 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780226798813