[A Sip of Books] The Unfading Voice of the Marginalized Working Class

Some sentences encapsulate the entire content of the book itself, while others instantly reach the reader's heart, creating a connection with the book. We introduce such meaningful sentences excerpted from the book. - Editor's note

This is a story about poverty written by an author who has focused on the life, culture, and inequality of the working class, who traveled to the devastated coal mining town of Colbrook in the eastern United States. It contains the 'voices of the people involved' necessary to address issues of inequality and polarization. The author closely examines the reality of the poor working class living in Colbrook, a coal mining town rife with problems such as drugs, crime, poverty, and violence, and how they have constructed emotional frameworks in their difficult daily lives. Furthermore, the book sharpens the political possibilities for a better future from the pain that has invaded the lives and souls of the working class.

In an era where family and community bonds are fragile, trust is lacking, social safety nets are limited, and opportunities for social mobility are scarce, managing personal suffering has become essential. p.44

People feel a sense of security and pride by firmly resisting all attempts to make them believe they live in a free, fair, and transparent democratic society. For them, the ideal politician is ultimately someone who is not a politician. p.274

The common characteristic that binds them is a sharp criticism of the “system.” Their disillusionment with mainstream political institutions and their individual susceptibility to self-improvement and conspiracy theories serve to reinforce the fortress of confirmation bias they build around themselves. p.274

Having learned an attitude of distrust, he reveals skepticism that rejects “our people” and insists on self-reliance, which begins in the closest family relationships and extends to broader social institutions. p.275

The healing-centered self, which turns inward and is absorbed in its own healing and transformation, appears to stigmatize civic participation and collective action. Emphasizing self-change turns structural obstacles into individual ones to be overcome by willpower rather than collective action, and the hardships of private life become separated from their social and political roots. p.300

The “class” identity that mediates between individual hardship and collective action no longer functions as it did in the past. It is time to face head-on the brutal divisions and inequalities of the post-industrial society, where the “working class” is neither white nor male, and sometimes does not even work. p.317

People Who Cannot Disappear | Jennifer M. Silva | Translated by Hwang Seong-won | Munye Publishing | 400 pages | 18,000 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.