HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

Charles Murray: Why America is Coming Apart Along Class Lines

Views:847
@ReasonVids

Charles Murray, one of America's most influential social policy thinkers, has come out with a widely discussed new book called Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010, which argues that Americans are splitting into two divergent classes, and that this growing divide could end American life as we have known it.

A self-described libertarian, Murray started his career as a liberal Democrat who spent six years in the Peace Corps and voted for Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential election. His political transformation came while he was researching his landmark 1984 book, Losing Ground: American Social Policy 1950-1980, which marshaled exhaustive evidence that American welfare programs were harming the very people they were supposed to be lifting out of poverty.

Losing Ground was fiercely denounced by the political left, but soon won mainstream acceptance that the War on Poverty was failing. The simple fact is there wouldn't have been welfare reform in the 1990s without Losing Ground.

The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life, Murray's 1994 collaboration with Harvard psychologist Richard Herrnstein, was more controversial. The book maintained that differences in genes contribute to differences in IQ, which in turn play a significant role in the life outcomes of individuals. Most controversially, Herrnstein and Murray argued that various ethnic groups have distinct differences in inherited intelligence. (Economist James J. Heckman reviewed The Bell Curve for Reason back in 1995: http://reason.com/archives/1995/03/01/cracked-bell/singlepage))

Murray has written more than 20 books, including What It Means to Be a Libertarian: A Personal Interpretation, and he's currently the W.H. Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute .

Reason's Ronald Bailey sat down with Murray in March for a wide-ranging discussion of how his earlier work informs Coming Apart, why he remains libertarian in his outlook, and whether younger Americans face an relentlessly negative future.

Approximately 35 minutes.

Written and produced by Jim Epstein.

Visit http://www.reason.tv for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube Channel to receive notifications when new material goes live.

reason
,
reason.tv
,
reason.org
,
reason.com
,
reason magazine
,
reason foundation
,
liberarian
,
charles murray
,
nick gillespie
,
the bell curve
,
coming apart
,
the state of white america
,
welfare
,
losing ground
,
war on povery
,
richard herrnstein
,
american enterprise institute
,
aei
,
ronald bailey
,
ron bailey
    Thumbnail for Arizona's Immigration Law Heads to the Supreme Court3:48
    Arizona's Immigration Law Heads to the Supreme Court
    ReasonVids
    748 views
    Thumbnail for City Threatens Single Mom’s Day Care After Golfer Complaints4:35
    City Threatens Single Mom’s Day Care After Golfer Complaints
    IJvids
    893 views
    Thumbnail for Home improvement with @kikenigger0:41
    Home improvement with @kikenigger
    bestofupgoat
    239 views
    Thumbnail for ISIS Runs Luxury Hotel in Iraq Now1:28
    ISIS Runs Luxury Hotel in Iraq Now
    ReasonVids
    924 views
    Thumbnail for Moonman - Niggerland3:50
    Moonman - Niggerland
    moonman
    969 views
    Thumbnail for In Memoriam: The GOP Pretending to Care About Fiscal Restraint0:46
    In Memoriam: The GOP Pretending to Care About Fiscal Restraint
    ReasonVids
    938 views
    Thumbnail for Dead Rising 2: Off the Record - Walkthrough - Part 39 - Time Is On My Side (Gameplay) | theRadBrad14:56
    Dead Rising 2: Off the Record - Walkthrough - Part 39 - Time Is On My Side (Gameplay) | theRadBrad
    invidious
    347 views
    Thumbnail for Singularity University's Salim Ismail on the Age of Technological Disruption5:19
    Singularity University's Salim Ismail on the Age of Technological Disruption
    ReasonVids
    912 views
    Thumbnail for What If We Melted Every Gummy Together? | Vat190:56
    What If We Melted Every Gummy Together? | Vat19
    invidious
    271 views
    Thumbnail for Joe Rogan goes crazy0:13
    Joe Rogan goes crazy
    bestofupgoat
    542 views
    Thumbnail for [노영희티비생방송]  난립하는 국힘후보들 출마 한다, 안한다 변덕이 죽 끓는 후보들 / 명태균이 노영희를 고소한다네.  "노봉만TV라이브 시즌 II" (2025.04.14) | 노영희티비(영친이들)1:14:56
    [노영희티비생방송] 난립하는 국힘후보들 출마 한다, 안한다 변덕이 죽 끓는 후보들 / 명태균이 노영희를 고소한다네. "노봉만TV라이브 시즌 II" (2025.04.14) | 노영희티비(영친이들)
    invidious
    124 views
    Thumbnail for When Democrats Loved Deregulation4:54
    When Democrats Loved Deregulation
    ReasonVids
    964 views
    Thumbnail for Cops Owned while citizens eat burritos ~ Walk of Shame ~ First Amendment Audit #fastx #burrito | Mr. Obvious Accountability1:00
    Cops Owned while citizens eat burritos ~ Walk of Shame ~ First Amendment Audit #fastx #burrito | Mr. Obvious Accountability
    invidious
    443 views
    Thumbnail for Awesome A-10 Thunderbolt II BRRRT Compilation | WarLeaks - Military Blog2:23
    Awesome A-10 Thunderbolt II BRRRT Compilation | WarLeaks - Military Blog
    invidious
    442 views
    Thumbnail for Clerk Denied Time Off Quits - Entire Town Shuts Down | Steve Lehto9:31
    Clerk Denied Time Off Quits - Entire Town Shuts Down | Steve Lehto
    invidious
    422 views
    Thumbnail for Viktor Orbán on Trump1:21
    Viktor Orbán on Trump
    AOUisgay
    552 views
    Thumbnail for 12 Coolest Car Gadgets That Are Worth Seeing | YouFact Tech8:27
    12 Coolest Car Gadgets That Are Worth Seeing | YouFact Tech
    invidious
    392 views
    Thumbnail for State of the Union: Obama Moves the Goalposts2:48
    State of the Union: Obama Moves the Goalposts
    ReasonVids
    860 views
    Thumbnail for Rolls Royce Micro-Reactors and Small Modular Reactors (SMR)2:07
    Rolls Royce Micro-Reactors and Small Modular Reactors (SMR)
    bestofupgoat
    283 views
    Thumbnail for “If Russia invades Ukraine, one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward.”- Victoria Nuland on January 27th, 2022.0:55
    “If Russia invades Ukraine, one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward.”- Victoria Nuland on January 27th, 2022.
    bestofsaidit
    768 views
    Thumbnail for More Americans Trust IRS Than Facebook with Privacy: Reason-Rupe Poll September 20134:23
    More Americans Trust IRS Than Facebook with Privacy: Reason-Rupe Poll September 2013
    ReasonVids
    940 views
    Thumbnail for How to enjoy CHIPS with your best friend properly?😎❤️🍟| CHEFKOUDY0:08
    How to enjoy CHIPS with your best friend properly?😎❤️🍟| CHEFKOUDY
    invidious
    283 views
    Thumbnail for Drunk Pathetic Spic Ruins White Man's Day0:46
    Drunk Pathetic Spic Ruins White Man's Day
    bestofupgoat
    125 views
    Thumbnail for [สตรีมสด] ส่องฟอร์ม Vinicius 105 Momentum Dribbling จะพริ้วขนาดไหนกันเชี่ยว ! | จารย์เอ็ม PES MOBILE3:51:45
    [สตรีมสด] ส่องฟอร์ม Vinicius 105 Momentum Dribbling จะพริ้วขนาดไหนกันเชี่ยว ! | จารย์เอ็ม PES MOBILE
    invidious
    199 views
    Thumbnail for Class 10th Maths Maha Marathon - Quadratic Eq, Probability & Statistics 🔥 | Shobhit Nirwan5:50:45
    Class 10th Maths Maha Marathon - Quadratic Eq, Probability & Statistics 🔥 | Shobhit Nirwan
    invidious
    145 views

points

Permalink
Reply
reason
,
reason.tv
,
reason.org
,
reason.com
,
reason magazine
,
reason foundation
,
liberarian
,
charles murray
,
nick gillespie
,
the bell curve
,
coming apart
,
the state of white america
,
welfare
,
losing ground
,
war on povery
,
richard herrnstein
,
american enterprise institute
,
aei
,
ronald bailey
,
ron bailey
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle