The Social Distance Between Us

A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK If all the best people are in all the top jobs, then why is Britain such a fucking bin fire? Britain is in a long-distance relationship with reality. A ravine cuts through it, partitioning the powerful from the powerless, the vocal from the voiceless, the fortunate from those too often forgotten. This distance dictates how we identify and relate to society''s biggest issues - from homelessness and poverty to policing and overrun prisons - ultimately determining how, and whether, we strive to resolve them. So why, for generations, has a select group of people with very limited experience of social inequality been charged with discussing and debating it? I''ve sat on cold pavements with beggars, asking them why they would rather wander the streets than live in supported accommodation. I''ve pleaded with alcoholics to give sobriety one last shot before they end up dead - and read their obituaries in the paper weeks later. I''ve sat with youth workers at their wits'' end as diversionary services are cut amid a surge in gang and knife violence. Too many people remain so far from this nightmarish social reality that even when they would earnestly wish to bring about change, they don''t know where to start. So start here. Praise for Darren McGarvey: ''The standout, authentic voice of a generation'' Herald ''Utterly compelling'' Ian Rankin, New Statesman ''Brilliant'' Russell Brand ''An absolutely fascinating individual'' Owen Jones ''Offer[s] an antidote to populist anger that transcends left and right... articulate and emotional'' Financial Times ''McGarvey is a rarity: a working-class writer who has fought to make the middle-class world hear what he has to say'' Nick Cohen, Guardian

Autorentext
Darren McGarvey grew up in Pollok, Glasgow. He is a writer, hip-hop artist, broadcaster and campaigner. His bestselling and acclaimed first book Poverty Safari was awarded the Orwell Prize for political writing in 2018.

Klappentext

Darren's new book - Trauma Industrial Complex - is available to pre-order nowA RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK*SHORTLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION*LONGLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE'An Orwell for today's poor' - The Times'The standout, authentic voice of a generation' - Herald'McGarvey is a rarity: a working-class writer who has fought to make the middle-class world hear what he has to say' - Nick Cohen, GuardianWhy are the rich getting richer while the poor only get poorer? How is it possible that in a wealthy, civilised democracy cruelty and inequality are perpetuated by our own public services? And how come, if all the best people are in all the top jobs, Britain is such an unmitigated bin fire?Join Darren McGarvey on a journey through a divided Britain in search of answers. Here, our latter-day Orwell exposes the true scale of Britain's social ills and reveals why our current political class, those tasked with bringing solutions, are so distanced from our lived experience that they are the last people you'd want fighting your corner. Praise for Darren McGarvey:'Utterly compelling' Ian Rankin, New Statesman'An absolutely fascinating individual' Owen Jones'Offer[s] an antidote to populist anger that transcends left and right... articulate and emotional' Financial Times

Zusammenfassung

A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK
SHORTLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION
LONGLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE

'An Orwell for today's poor' - The Times
'The standout, authentic voice of a generation' Herald
'McGarvey is a rarity: a working-class writer who has fought to make the middle-class world hear what he has to say' Nick Cohen, Guardian

Why are the rich getting richer while the poor only get poorer? How is it possible that in a wealthy, civilised democracy cruelty and inequality are perpetuated by our own public services? And how come, if all the best people are in all the top jobs, Britain is such an unmitigated bin fire?

Join Darren McGarvey on a journey through a divided Britain in search of answers. Here, our latter-day Orwell exposes the true scale of Britain's social ills and reveals why our current political class, those tasked with bringing solutions, are so distanced from our lived experience that they are the last people you'd want fighting your corner.

Praise for Darren McGarvey:

'Utterly compelling' Ian Rankin, New Statesman

'Brilliant' Russell Brand

'An absolutely fascinating individual' Owen Jones

'Offer[s] an antidote to populist anger that transcends left and right... articulate and emotional' Financial Times