Where We Stand: Class Matters By Bell Hooks

Where We Stand: Class Matters is an exploration of the class system in the United States and how it intertwines with other crucial themes of today's society like racism, sexism and feminism.
Author Bell Hooks emphasises throughout her book the argument that class is an uncool topic to talk about, ignored by mass media, avoided in the private and public dialogue, feared by wealthy and poor. In this book, Hooks focuses on the harm done by such silences and on the consequences that the American capitalist system has on its population at a behavioural as well as psychological level, always focusing on how different social, racial and gender groups are affected by the same system. Each chapter is written as a self-sufficient essay, dealing with

a different but related theme, and always getting to the conclusion that the United States need to implement policies to create participatory economics as an alternative economic system to consumer capitalism. Some of the main topics tackled in the text are the role of mass medias, the birth and proliferation of the drug industry, the so-called 'culture of accumulation', greed, feminism and the rise of the new black elite, discriminatory practices in the real estate market

The first four chapters of the book are deeply personal, they focus on Hook's personal experience being raised in a family of 'poor agrarian southern black landowners living under a regime of racial apartheid' (p.17). Each family member is described in their personality and in their attitude towards key concepts such as money and race. Furthermore, the importance of the education she received at home thanks to inspiring figures like her grandmother in regards to respecting and identifying with the poor, sharing resources, communalism and working hard are stressed not only in these first chapters but throughout the whole text. Another factor identified by the author as responsible for shaping her economic perspective and lifestyle is the Christian church, which provided values to resist greed and promote solidarity with the poor.
These first chapters flow naturally as narrative and cultural critique of the American society, and introduce the readers to a number of themes which reoccur many other times in the following pages. Because every chapter is designed to stand on its own and can be read separately from the rest of the book, reading the entire collection can result in a repetitive experience.
In addition to that, some readers may not feel fully involved in the story because it is so personal. For example, great importance is given to religion as an element fostering positive attitude towards discriminated social groups; although this might be appreciated by those readers who share this view, for many others of a different belief or who are not religious at all it might be hard to be feel involved so excessive focus on religion might not provide added value to Hooks's argument.

One of the most important themes the book deals with is the role of mass media in the American society.

The author sees medias of all kind (television, newspapers, the Internet...) as covering a negative role especially in the United States, where they extend the values of the ruling class to all other social groups, while creating and broadcasting a negative image of the poor as parasites, predators exploiting the resources provided by the wealthy because of their laziness. Widespread embrace of 'hedonistic consumerism' (p.60) by all people is something Hooks sees as the cancer of American society today. It's a system which has tragic consequences both psychologically and behaviourally on the poor as personal value is considered to depend on material ownership. The desire to be wealthy is seen as the only meaningful aspiration, and the failure to satisfy one's material longings triggers psychological torment and

envy.
The author condemns the medias' role in creating negative stereotypes about the poor aimed at disempowerment of the whole class, while promoting self-destructive habits like gambling.

The worst consequence of this culture of accumulation identified by the author is the drug business it creates in poor black neighbourhoods especially among the youngest, a business which gives disadvantaged people the financial possibilities to buy luxury items they wouldn't normally be able to access. The sections of the book dedicated to this theme are particularly intense as the author, because of her humble origins, feels personally involved. She bases her arguments against the rich on a number of rich individuals she states to have interviewed and they way they view their own class position, and on the testimony of one of the richest men in this society' (p.77) who she has also apparently interviewed but won’t identify. This daring individual admitted that 'what he liked most about his shift from the middle-class to the ruling wealthy elite was the power over others it gave to him, that he could make them do things they ordinarily would not do'.

Another central theme the books focuses on is greed and excess. The author directly addresses the 'american dream' as one of the factors responsible for the spread within the new generations of individualism, narcissism, need for material objects. She identifies technological advancement, progress and money itself as further elements leading to greed: the more one's income increases, Hooks states, the more one risks to become excessively protective of their own wealth. Obsessing on accumulation is what leads our society to constantly higher levels of individualism and class segregation. Once again, Hooks focuses on the processes triggered by this consumer capitalist system in poor black areas, like increased violence between minorities which were once united in solidarity, growing illegal drug business, and the loss of real values. This section of the book is without any doubt the most painful to read: the reader is forced to reflect on some of the most worrying social issues of our time as the author urges families of all classes and races to break the silence around money management in households.

The chapter about feminism is, for the casual reader, not the easiest. Previous knowledge is necessary to follow Hooks in her historical digression on the liberation and the revolutionary movements. It's a dense and deeply theoretical digression. Nevertheless, the chapter is interesting and informative, and provides crucial information for understanding the current inequality between wealthy and poor black women. Particularly interesting is Hook's argument that as rich women got liberated thanks to the feminist movement and are now able to engage in paid work (even if still under-payed compared to their male counterparts), another group of disadvantaged women got did not gain the same freedom and got trapped by domestic work in the homes of those same women who are now able to take part in the labour market. The author's thesis that rich women want equality with men of their class rather than with their exploited and oppressed sisters depicts the internal collusion which led to the destabilisation of the feminist movement.

Related to feminism and its internal division is the so-called 'new black elite'.

Both depict betrayal between members of the same group: class elites in both feminist and black liberation movements distorted the meaning of liberation to protect their own interests which, in this case, is status. The fact that class-based civil rights struggle destroyed solidarity between black people is a central topic in the book. Hooks describes how racism hit wealthy blacks too, who moved into white neighbourhoods, adopted typical white lifestyles and started hiring white underlings as a form of revenge for what they had to go through during the segregation years. The fact that the new wealthy black left the black poor behind is repeatedly attacked by the author, who insists that social mobility doesn't mean betraying those on the bottom. If this is true for mobility of the black population, then it is also true for women's mobility in society. The same concept is used by the author when analysing poverty among white people, an issue purposefully ignored by medias in the United States, who regularly seem to forget that the majority of the poor population is constituted of white

people.

Possibly the most effective chapter in the book is the one dedicated to the real estate market and its interconnection with racist discriminatory practices. It's a compelling part of the book with vivid details of racist practices by home sellers, landlords, co-op boards, and it analyses critical episodes like the flight of the whites from neighbourhoods where black population rapidly increases over time, and the gentrification of poor neighbourhoods in big cities. The personal involvement in these practices is described in a way that brings the reader closer to understanding a corrupted system like the one in force in the USA.

The last two chapters of the book, 'Crossing Class Boundaries' and 'Living Without Class Hierarchy', work as a summary of the author's arguments and political theories already explained in more detail throughout the book. The main focus is once again on Hooks's personal experience; the narration introduces the reader to intimate and sometimes distressing episodes of her social status advancement, to her determined personality which played a central role in bringing her where she is today. Once again, the relationship with some her relatives is used as an example of the possible dynamics occurring within families in which one member manages to cross class boundaries. Hooks stresses the importance of meaningful solidarity with poor people, which is only possible through a willingness to critically consider where each of us stands within global class hierarchies and to challenge class inequalities through our action. Furthermore, according to Hooks, real social justice requires an 'ongoing consideration of class shaped by a recognition that interdependency sustains the life of the planet' (p.130)

The final part of Where We Stand: Class Matter provides a number of policies which, if implemented, would foster the creation of a more equal society; for example Hooks talks about redistribution in organised as well as unorganised sharing, the abolishment of 'projects' in which poor black people live today, the creation of an emotional culture which would change people's opinion on getting and giving, providing affordable education so that everybody has the opportunity to progress in life.

Reading the book results in a pleasant experience, the language used is far from the economic jargon most commonly used by other authors in this field, rather it is simple and easily understandable, making the book accessible to a wide range of readers.
Published in 2000 in the United States, this text engages in a passionate discussion over a topic often purposefully ignored and avoided by mass medias and political figures.
The author's goal is to expose the inconsistent behaviour of wealthy white liberals who claim to be in favour of a multicultural society but, in practice, only want to protect their interests and wealth; Hooks wants to show how today's society is affected by a number of negative stereotypes created to disempower certain social classes, and to destroy these stereotypes by providing new information on the actual socio-political situation in the States. One of her main arguments is that the American society is not in fact as classless as we are often led to believe; social classes still exist and upgrading from a low to a wealthier one is much harder than it seems.