The 9.9 Percent: The New Aristocracy That Is Entrenching Inequality and Warping Our Culture
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- Create Date：2021-10-23 06:51:15
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Matthew Stewart
- ISBN：1982114185
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Summary
A scorching， trenchant， analysis of how the wealthiest group in American society is making life miserable for everyone—including themselves。
In 21st century America， the top 0。1% of the wealth distribution have walked away with the big prizes even while the bottom 90% have lost ground。 What’s left of the American Dream has taken refuge in the 9。9% that lies just below the tip of extreme wealth。 Collectively， the members of this group control more than half of the wealth in the country—and they are doing whatever it takes to hang on to their piece of the action in an increasingly unjust system。
They log insane hours at the office and then turn their leisure time into an excuse for more career-building， even as they rely on an underpaid servant class to power their economic success and satisfy their personal needs。 They have segregated themselves into zip codes designed to exclude as many people as possible。 They have made fitness a national obsession even as swaths of the population lose healthcare and grow sicker。 They have created an unprecedented demand for admission to elite schools and helped to fuel the dramatic cost of higher education。 They channel their political energy into symbolic conflicts over identity in order to avoid acknowledging the economic roots of their privilege。 And they have created an ethos of “merit” to justify their advantages。 They are all around us。 In fact， they are us—or what we are supposed to want to be。
In The 9。9 Percent， Matthew Stewart argues that a new aristocracy is emerging in American society and it is repeating the mistakes of history。 It is entrenching inequality， warping our culture， eroding democracy， and transforming an abundant economy into a source of misery。 He calls for a regrounding of American culture and politics on a foundation closer to the original promise of America。
In 21st century America， the top 0。1% of the wealth distribution have walked away with the big prizes even while the bottom 90% have lost ground。 What’s left of the American Dream has taken refuge in the 9。9% that lies just below the tip of extreme wealth。 Collectively， the members of this group control more than half of the wealth in the country—and they are doing whatever it takes to hang on to their piece of the action in an increasingly unjust system。
They log insane hours at the office and then turn their leisure time into an excuse for more career-building， even as they rely on an underpaid servant class to power their economic success and satisfy their personal needs。 They have segregated themselves into zip codes designed to exclude as many people as possible。 They have made fitness a national obsession even as swaths of the population lose healthcare and grow sicker。 They have created an unprecedented demand for admission to elite schools and helped to fuel the dramatic cost of higher education。 They channel their political energy into symbolic conflicts over identity in order to avoid acknowledging the economic roots of their privilege。 And they have created an ethos of “merit” to justify their advantages。 They are all around us。 In fact， they are us—or what we are supposed to want to be。
In The 9。9 Percent， Matthew Stewart argues that a new aristocracy is emerging in American society and it is repeating the mistakes of history。 It is entrenching inequality， warping our culture， eroding democracy， and transforming an abundant economy into a source of misery。 He calls for a regrounding of American culture and politics on a foundation closer to the original promise of America。
Reviews
Jaidee
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3。5 "needed just a little more fizz for this pop politcial sociology " stars ！！ This will be a bit of a difficult review to write as this book is packed full of ideas and analysis and I had a bit of difficulty parsing everything out。 The author is a philosopher/historian who also did some work in management consulting where he joined the 9。9 percent （he defines them as families with net assets of at least 1。2 million）。 He offers a very gentle critique of their way of life （gated communities， edu 3。5 "needed just a little more fizz for this pop politcial sociology " stars ！！ This will be a bit of a difficult review to write as this book is packed full of ideas and analysis and I had a bit of difficulty parsing everything out。 The author is a philosopher/historian who also did some work in management consulting where he joined the 9。9 percent （he defines them as families with net assets of at least 1。2 million）。 He offers a very gentle critique of their way of life （gated communities， educational achievement， keeping up and surpassing the Joneses， liberal democrats， mostly white （but oh so open）， self deluded， arrogant in their quest of nirvana and envious of the 0。1 percent while mostly judging those in the bottom deciles of economic （in）stability）。 Unknowingly these handmaidens to the rich （lawyers， doctors， management， finance） uphold the status quo of both classism and racism （often unknowingly） by not only pandering and serving the ultra wealthy but upholding systems of law， taxation and thinking that uphold the status quo。 For these services they are passed the finest cuts of meat but need to be chained to their desks and be mostly unproductive and somewhat miserable。 Who knew that these liberal democrats were in cahoots with Republicans who are busy stoking anger in poor whites who demonize other even more disenfranchised groups。 Meanwhile the Kardashians butts get bigger， Elon wants to live on Mars and Bezos continues to be a bozo。 There is so much here though and I will guarantee you that if you are not a sociopath that you will feel guilt if you occupy even the top 30 percent of financial privilege as this is costing our brother and sisters of all races a lot of hardship with low paying jobs， no access to healthcare or decent housing。 This is the way of the world no matter if you support Biden， racial equality， lgbt and disablity rights ！ You see the super rich know what they are doing while the 9。9 percent pretend to do good by attending yoga， being helicopter parents and vying for the choicest homes in the best districts。 Unknowingly other races that reach the 9。9 percent also behave in similar ways and are kicking their bros in the balls and twisting their mamis teats。 I do not mean to be so blunt but this is what I took from this book。 People are people but the more unequal our societies become the higher the crime rates， the worse health is for everybody， addictions skyrocket， domestic abuse increases etc etc etc It is up to the 9。9 （heck I would say 30 percent） that have some power and influence to create a more just society for all and not hide behind pseudo progressive liberal agendas that in many ways are more dishonest than what the right does to not only maintain status quos but to increase in huge ways the power that the super-rich have while being protected and facilitated by the 9。9 percent to a big degree and I think to a lesser degree the next twenty percent that mostly hugely aspire to be in the 9。9 percent。 We need to move away from a mindset of deserving（meritocracy） to serving all of our brothers and sisters in more just and equitable ways through social justice， evidence and compassion ！ Enough about that for now but seriously an interesting book that could really use some chapter summaries as well as more systematic approach to implementing real changes that will address increasing wealth and racial inequities。 。。。more
Grace
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This is an excellent and very funny book， despite its focus on the serious topic of inequality。I particularly enjoyed Stewart's self-deprecating humor about his experience in management consulting， and his doctoral studies in German Philosophy where he invested his time in “nearly unreadable philosophical capital”。 His description of modern American upper-middle class parenting is hilarious; I live （and was born and raised） in the San Francisco Bay Area and can attest to the accuracy of everythi This is an excellent and very funny book， despite its focus on the serious topic of inequality。I particularly enjoyed Stewart's self-deprecating humor about his experience in management consulting， and his doctoral studies in German Philosophy where he invested his time in “nearly unreadable philosophical capital”。 His description of modern American upper-middle class parenting is hilarious; I live （and was born and raised） in the San Francisco Bay Area and can attest to the accuracy of everything he writes about the prevalence of hyper-competitive neuroticism among the upper-middle and lower-upper classes。Without giving away too many details， the following embody the ethos of this book:1。 “McKinsey: Feeding Our Readers Complete Bullshit Is Our Business Model”， [https://www。bradford-delong。com/2011/。。。]2。 "Epitaph of a Small Winner" by Machado de Assis， particularly this section: “I had no progeny， I transmitted to no one the legacy of our misery。” （Translator: Grossman）Original: “Não tive filhos， não transmiti a nenhuma criatura o legado de nossa miséria。”3。 Backwards Or Über-Progressive？ Dutch Women Are Working Part-Time And Doing Just Dandy， [https://bust。com/feminism/6700-backwa。。。'She goes on to say， “Maybe this will turn out to be the fourth wave of feminism。 Women protect the possibility that one day we’ll wake up to realize that life is not all about acquiring more material wealth， power， status。 Many Dutch women that I know want to stay sane， happy， relaxed。”It's worth noting that the Netherlands is among the richest countries in the world， with per-capita GDP higher than the U。S。 They also have a more equitable distribution of income and higher-quality public services， so the median Dutch household is in fact more financially secure than the median household of most other countries in the world。'4。 "Taiwan’s single-payer success story — and its lessons for America"， [https://www。vox。com/health-care/2020/。。。]"In Taiwan， everybody is covered。 The Taiwanese health care system is built on the belief that everyone deserves health care， in Xiulin just as much as anywhere else。"5。 "Squid Game"， [https://www。netflix。com/title/81040344] 。。。more
Liquidlasagna
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