Rich People Things: Real-Life Secrets of the Predator Class

by Chris Lehmann

"Social criticism at its scorching-hot best."—Barbara Ehrenreich

"Think H.L. Mencken crossed with Jon Stewart."—The Phoenix

In Rich People Things, Chris Lehmann lays bare the various dogmas and delusions that prop up plutocratic rule in the post-meltdown age. It's a humorous and harrowing tale of warped populism, phony reform, and blind deference to the nation's financial elite. As the author explains, American class privilege is very much like the idea of sex in a Catholic school—it's not supposed to exist in the first place, but once it presents itself in your mind's eye, you realize that it's everywhere.

A concise and easy-to-use guide, Rich People Things catalogs the fortifications that shelter the opulent from the resentments of the hoi polloi. From ideological stanchions such as the Free Market through the castellation of media including The New York Times and Wired magazine, to gatekeepers such as David Brooks, Steve Forbes, and Alan Greenspan, Lehmann covers the vast array of comforting and comprehensive protections that allow the über-privileged to maintain their iron grip on almost half of America's wealth. With chapters on Malcolm Gladwell, the Supreme Court, the memoir, and more, no one is spared from Lehmann's pointed prose.

Chris Lehmann is employed, ever precariously, as an editor for Yahoo! News, Bookforum, and The Baffler, while dissecting the excesses of his social betters for his column Rich People Things at TheAwl.com. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife Ana Marie Cox and a quartet of excellent pets.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Economics, Social Justice, Essays, Sociology, Activism

280 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2010

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, that was depressing. This is a collection of short essays on current events that come across as angry, hyper-literate rants (a popular format for modern political writers who – for whatever reason – are disinclined toward long-form journalism). Successful efforts are often more funny than not; this book isn’t merely unfunny – it’s dyspeptic.

I should be clear on this point: Chris Lehmann hits the bulls-eye on a pretty regular basis. He’s clearly a smart guy with a great vocabulary and excellent grasp of history. Also, each essay adroitly supports the book’s central thesis: the plutocrats have the rest of us on a pretty short leash. Fair enough. The problem – if there is one – is that the prose is so heavily weighted with negativity that its persuasive power is compromised. At some point, a reasonable reader is likely to just sigh, concede the point, and decide to enjoy life anyway.

Curious readers can handle bad news. I’ve spent countless hours reading in-depth about all manner of horrors, but I tend to balk when a raconteur is revealed to be a recondite grouse.

[Aaron · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have the feeling that Chris Lehmann started writing this book with the intention of a) Enjoying a good laugh at the bad taste of the rich and famous (an the wannabee groupies), and b) Informing the public of the very real and serious unfair advantages the wealthy of America enjoy over the rest of us. Or something like that. However, what he delivered with a disorganized package of personal gripes, once-over-lightly social analysis, and many, many run on sentences. I bought this book, for the discount price of $8.00, after quickly flipping through and finding some flippant criticisms of high art, pop literature, established American institutions of all kinds, and famous personalities. But I misread his writing style. He uses two basic writing devices: hyperbole and caustic sarcasm. I enjoy my share of both, but this was just too much. That's what really bothered me about the book. The essays have the halfhearted, simple analysis you would expect from your average college sophomore term paper, but the writing is a cut below. I couldn't argue effect for or against most of what he says in the book, just because I'm not really sure where he stands on most of it. Perhaps he doesn't either.

Rich People Things doesn't really seemed to be aimed at "rich" people. Lehmann seems to toss the ultra-rich billionaires in with high-living stockholders and executives, in with doing-better-than-most middle management businessmen, in with those guys that don't really have any money (at least not yet) but dream of getting into the club. That's a pretty wide range. Most of his targets are no-brainers (reality television, the iPad, Steve Forbes) but he also puts in the stock market itself (not just major abuse of the financial system) and even the U.S. Supreme Court itself. Again, he's not weighing in on this with either financial or legal expertise; if so, I could measure him against Kevin Phillips or Mark Tushnet. Instead, his main inspiration for writing this book was the stock market crash of 2008 - an event he refers back to sever times. I know a lot of people felt that pretty hard. I myself was out of work for several months and without any clear end in sight. But I don't think it really compares to the Great Depression, or that America, or the world, was on the brink of complete and permanent social collapse.

Well, I've already written more than I think this book merits. Why 1 star? It wasn't the worst thing I've read - it doesn't belong on the 'just terrible' shelf. But then, it was disorganized, accusatory, and full of hot air. What's worse is that I went cover to cover looking for something solid and original to make this a poor, but passable work and there was none. For that reason, I can't even put this up on any my other shelves, because it's not even a bad case of any other category. I'd wish you better luck next time, but maybe writing isn't your thing.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Lehman is angry. Sometimes he is SO angry, his sentences are a little hard to follow, but once you see what he is angry about, you can understand. He was there and paying attention during the Real Estate Meltdown when I was blithely listening to This American Life and thinking I had an understanding of things.

MAN. I got to get a handle on 20th century history one of these days.

For instance, the bit about Reagan and his dumb Star Wars program serving as a dispersal of funds in much the same way as Roosevelt's New Deal programs, only without the lasting good of those problems. Except, of course, that what good happened during the Reagan years was ascribed to the damn tax cuts and not the thousands of jobs provided by the government's military ambitions!

I also liked the bit at the end where he quotes Henry Demarest Lloyd about how every government is a reflection of the values of the people. So long as we think bloodthirsty, short-sighted, hyper-competitive, greedy people are good actually, then we will keep excusing their actions all their way into positions of power over us.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I give 3 stars to the concept of this book and a few well-made points, but 2 for my total lack of enjoyment while reading it. For someone who is criticizing the plutocracy, his sentences are unnecessarily complicated, and his use of vocabulary and phrases makes me feel likes he's trying to prove how smart he is. (I do believe he is very smart, but it just comes across as pompous.) At one point he criticizes Ayn Rand's characters for being "swathed in layers of obscurantist jargon," but I feel like Lehmann's writing could be similarly characterized.

Lehmann does make some good points throughout the chapters as well, but too often the criticisms feel too specific and almost seem like an angry, personal rant against the particular people and things he is writing about. Again, it was an interesting concept, but for me it missed the mark, and I don't feel any more knowledgeable after reading it.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lehman is obviously very smart. He examines several issues that have relevancy to class conflict but are denied because of our society's refusal to acknowledge our class divisions. I found many of his arguments compelling but he did not offer a complete picture of the forces the very wealthy exert upon our political and social environment. I've been reading Jane Mayer's Dark Money which provides that picture. I also was a little annoyed with Lehmann's hifalutin language (in much the same way I get annoyed with academese). I have a well-developed vocabulary but I needed a dictionary to read some of his essays. If writers want to be accessible to a larger audience, then they need to make their language more accessible. And I'm not talking about "dumbing things down." For example, he uses the word "parturition" when he could have easily said "birth."

[Tim O'Hearn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit that I Googled "rich people book."

The author's vocabulary is unbelievable. How Chris Lehmann manages to wrangle all these big words into twenty six beautifully flowing essays is remarkable. The book is impossible to put down, even when you disagree.

The general tone is a bit pompous, sometimes annoyingly so, but his critiques are deeply thought provoking. And, most importantly, refreshing. He leaves no stone unturned. As I picked through these bundles of words, I discovered new ways to look at issues both familiar and unknown to me. In a few select segments, he was hitting parts of my brain that I didn't know existed. That is why I read books and that is why I will actively seek out more of Chris' writing.

[Sera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book, which provides a scathing look as to how regardless of political affiliation, the government has let corporations have a huge impact on our governmental institutions and how that has impeded our democracy. Lehmann makes his points by analyzing everything from academia to the Supreme Court to the New York Times. As you can see, there is plenty of blame to go around.

I highly recommend this book. It’s short but fairly dense.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was interesting for me because I fundamentally agree with many of the author's observations, but felt frustrated that his essays rarely moved beyond observation and criticism to what I would call analysis. At one point, I found myself thinking "Damn, he really hates rich people!" I was looking for more insight than vitriol and didn't feel like the book delivered. As others have noted, Lehmann is clearly a very smart guy who writes well. If I'd come to his book with a more accurate sense of what it would offer me, I might have given it 3 stars.

[Matt]

Witty bordering on pretentious cultural criticism, focused on skewering the things that matter most to terrible people on the Upper East Side. Chris Lehmann is a fantastic writer nonetheless. Will update when I finish.

[Gregory · Rating 1 out of 5]

Much ranting, little analysis. Like listening to your drunk uncle at Thanksgiving dinner.

[Erin Stuhlsatz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do strongly recommend about 2/3 of this book (I definitely skipped the chapters about things/people I hadn't heard of...guess I'm not rich enough [yet]). Mostly it was really interesting to read Lehmann's analysis of the ways the Democratic Party has become a party of the rich, leaving behind its commitment to the working poor. I enjoyed his writing (and his criticism of Malcolm Gladwell) very much.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was walking on Pearl Street in Boulder, Co and saw a book store called Left Hand Books, an all-volunteer, not-for-profit, progressive bookstore providing access to alternative viewpoints and difficult-to-obtain sources of information. This description grabbed my attention so I strolled inside and could not believe what I saw - better than anything I experienced in that liberal oasis on Long Island Sound! After perusing the stock I stumbled onto the "just released display table" and picked up this charming book. The title speaks for itself - "real life secrets of the predator class." Barbara Ehrenreich wrote - "social criticism at its scorching-hot best." Thomas Frank said "What a delight it is to have—finally!—an entire book in which Lehmann gives the plutocrats of this world the drubbing they deserve—in delicious detail. His scoffing is a tonic," and it only gets better. Lehmann addresses what he sees as the tools used by the plutocratic elite to keep themselves in that enviable position. I had some difficulty in accepting some of the analysis - but in general it is so spot-on that to dispute is worthless. These essays are his interpretation of the mess our country finds itself in; unfortunately he does not come up with alternatives. I am not sure why I am drawn to these sorts of musings other than I myself am trying to sort it all out. Perhaps there is no sane explanation.

[Chad Post · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took a lot of sittings to make my way through this book. Not because of anything with the book itself--it's absolutely brilliant--but because it made me so god damn agry everything from the Supreme Court to Ayn Rand's influence (I already hated that &%^*# but still) to the ideas of the free market and meritocracy . . . I honestly believe that everyone should read this book. Although it's pre-OWS, it really nails down the fundamental issues at play in society today in terms of income inequality and the way corporations run rampant. It is infuriating. In all the right ways.

[Hank Stuever · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny where it needs to be, profane where it needs to be, insightful and smart pretty much on every page, even where it gets occasionally redundant. Most enjoyed the chapters on Wired, David Brooks, the Prosperity Gospel, Ayn Rand, the iPad, Frank Gerhy. The wonkier stuff, well, that's always a trudge for me. This is one of those books where you should feel free to skip around and find a groove.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely worth some of the interesting tidbits on which I was, well, minimally informed: the misinformation debacle that David Brooks perpetuated with his book Bobos in Paradise, for example, and the first chapter that gives context to the criticism levied by the anti-Federalists on the Constitution. Other sections are dated in their pertinence because many of the prophecies simply came to pass, but the scathing wit/mordant sassiness keep the book afloat. Granted it reads like a collection of essays that could double as introductions for older runs of The Baffler, this is a perfectly reasonable offering for those who dig Lehmann's writing style and want a few salvos with a dash of "preaching to the converted" to feel less lonely and more invigorated in one's political leanings. I'm always satisfied with criticisms of the Democrats as a party for the rich (because that's pretty much true at this point), enjoyed the way Lehmann goes after some of the low-hanging fruit nevertheless (iPads, for one), and I got to fill in some blanks I didn't have (some details about Alan Greenspan). This book also inspired me to purchase Sleepwalking Through History because I'm sick of all of the lionizing hagiographies of Ronald "I'm A Fuckboi" Reagan.

But the concusion left a seriously bad taste in my mouth. The conclusion - "The Language Problem" - is a bit of a mess, because Lehmann retreads observations George Carlin already made twenty years ago about the gradual over-sterilization of language as a way to obfuscate the alarming nature of what said words signify. We know that "shell shock" has a more potent ring to it than "PTSD," or "torture" in lieu of "enhanced interrogation." Lehmann extends this principle to economic euphemisms and then concludes with a message about personal accountability and complicity in a system that uses this language to oppress us. Lehmann pivots, then, oddly from the blame for global ruin to the predator class to asking the poor and working class and middle class - you name it - to address its own blame in the system and work towards eradicating it.

Here's the problem, though: the statistics demonstrably show that the greatest impact to environmental calamity comes from a list of megacorporations you can count on both hands. The prescription for this illness is not to pull some priggish behavioral modification among those who can barely afford changing the status quo for themselves; it's to attack the system that allows these mass murderers by way of climate change to not be imprisoned for crimes against humanity and beyond. Given how much Lehmann eviscerates Ayn Rand for her doctrine of individualism transcending and crushing the civil and civic life encouraged by government, or reiterates with great pains how the poor are hopeless victims of system-wide media degradation, it's downright bizarre that the book's twist ending is that "it's on all of us." I found the whole affair at the book's denouement downright loathsome and against character both for Lehmann and The Baffler. It's the kind of thing one says when trying to tack something, anything onto the end of the book, but I thought he was smart enough to at least stay on brand. No such luck, though.

[Ronnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know what I was expecting when I picked this up, but this was not it, and I'm still disappointed by it. Chris Lehmann is sarcastic and scathing throughout, which is not a bad thing, especially given the subject matter.

The subject matter, of course, being the predator class, which Lehmann tears into in a series of 29 (or 30, if you count the conclusion) short essays. These range from broad topics, like the free markets and the stock markets, to obscurely specific topics - despite the fact that I was very interested in politics when this book was published, I have no idea who David Brooks is, and I had to google Malcolm Gladwell, Damien Hirst, and others. They're so specific so as to be almost irrelevant, and even his chapter on "Memoirs" focused almost entirely on Love and Consequences by Margaret Setlzer without ever fully tying it to how Memoirs in general are a Rich Person Thing.

His essays were all very observant, pointing out things that might have otherwise been missed, but rarely become analytical, which is a little more what I was looking for. Some of them do go into a deeper analysis, such as when he dived into what working class people needed in the Reality TV essay, but never really talked about the deeper cultural issues that leads the working class people to watch reality TV so religiously. The chapter on the Supreme Court was another stand-out chapter that I quite enjoyed. Overall though, it's no surprise that his essays only seemed to be surface deep - it's difficult to get into the nitty gritty in essays that are only 6 - 10 pages.

Lehmann also seems to have a serious issue with long, almost indecipherable sentences. An exampe: "It's a bit disorienting, then, to hear no less a capitalist savant than multibillionaire investor Warren Buffet complain to no less a free-market propagandist than former Nixon White House speech-writer Ben Stein that in the simple process of filing his annual tax return in compliance with the tax code, without benefit of a nimble-fingered accountant or tax-adviser - he winds up paying much less of his earnings in proportional terms than any of the workers he employs."

The sentence makes sense, but it takes multiple readings to be able to make sense of it. This wasn't a one-off sentence, but just the first one that I decided to use as an example when I realized what an issue it is. Nearly half the book seems to be made up of sentences between 50 - 100 words long, and it serves to completely muddle his meaning.

As much information is in this book, I doubt I would ever recommend it to anyone, which is a disappointment because I had been looking forward to reading it for nearly half a year.

[Shay Gabriel · Rating 2 out of 5]

He's not wrong, and some aspects of this book are illuminating. The problems are twofold:

1. Lehmann picked his topics with a shallowness of vision that leads them to feel tremendously dated. This book is absolutely an artifact of 2011, and doesn't have a lot of virtues reading in 2017. To me, this suggests a lack of deep analysis of the kind of rich people things that are, well, more timeless. That is, there's a way to use the particularities of the 2010/2011 scene to make deeper and more permanent points, and I don't think Lehmann succeeded.

2. His writing just isn't good. It's needlessly dense and over-complicated. Difficult to read, when the best invective is punchy and sleek.

[Justin Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book from beginning to end. Lehmann, a writer for the Nation and the Baffler, provides readers with his signature acerbic but humorous wit on the things that unite the ruling class— libertarianism, tax cuts, crappy art, and Malcolm Gladwell, to name a few. I really liked how he connects all these threads with serious material analysis, tying it back to specific economic policies which soaked the rich and left the rest of us high and dry. He ends the book with an impassioned plea for us to acknowledge how the rich use language against the working class and how to fight back against it. Funny, engaging, erudite, and class conscious, Lehmann is a master ranter about our plutocratic, hyper unequal age.

[Paige · Rating 2 out of 5]

The irony of this book (which I believe was written by Lehmann right-clicking each word in every sentence and selecting the synonym with the most syllables) having a chapter titled “The Language Problem” is not lost on me.

Perhaps this book is compelling. It’s nearly unreadable, so most of its points suffer. In fact, it almost serves the opposite purpose because if rich people like markets and Steve Forbes and I want to be rich… maybe I should like markets and Steve Forbes!

Granting one additional star for shitting on David Brooks. LOL.

[Naomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I *did* like it. I know, I know...2-stars. I liked it, but it doesn't date well. This may have been very eye-opening in 2010, but having read it in 2017, you'd have to have been living in a bubble for the past couple years to not consider the entirety Captain Obvious fodder.

[Jill Blevins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annemarie Cox’s husband writing about rich people in a snarky tone should be exactly up my alley, right? Nope.

[Julesreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book that’s good for the soul.

[Susie]

Unfinished, therefore unrated

[Gabby N · Rating 1 out of 5]

Coming from someone who doesn't have an extensive vocabulary nor is an academic, I wish this book was easier to read/ understand. Upon reading the title/ description I was eager to understand how the wealthy class runs our society yet it seemed only those well educated could understand it, which is ironic since those who are highly educated tend to have more money than those who aren't. I would have enjoyed the book more if it were meant to be read by the every day worker just trying to understand class differences and educate themselves. Definitely does not end with a revolutionary tone to inspire readers to change the current situation. Instead the last chapter "Language" was filled with irony. Lehmann explains how those in power change the language around things and make it more difficult for non-wealthy people to understand, which in turn keeps them in power and the poor taken advantage of. The language in this book was beyond complex and therefore does nothing to educate or help those most disadvantaged by the wealthy.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barbara Ehrenreich called it "Social criticism at its scorching-hot best."
I can't do any better than that.

[Courtney · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not A Fan

I tried reading this for a reading challenge and I was super bored. But then again economics bores me to death anyways.

[Jynx Jenkins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tell us you own a thesaurus without telling us. Booooo.

[Lisa Citron · Rating 3 out of 5]

some good ideas, some well discussed, others stop short. As other reviewers have mentioned, the writing can be a bit lofty

[Lucky · Rating 3 out of 5]

like a listicle in academic book form; long form versions of points i’ve seen made on twitter; i can see why neoliberals wouldn’t like this or would be inclined to call him angry lol

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lehmann is funny and sharp-tongued. This collection of essays on various "rich people things" lets you know the whats and whys of their subjects, ridiculing the foibles of the rich but also of those who aspire to their station.