Twilight of the Elites

Prosperity, the Periphery, and the Future of France

De: Christophe Guilluy, Malcolm DeBevoise - Translated by

Narrado por: Roger Clark

A passionate account of how the gulf between France's metropolitan elites and its working classes are tearing the country apart.

Christophe Guilluy, a French geographer, makes the case that France has become an "American society" - one that is both increasingly multicultural and increasingly unequal. The divide between the global economy's winners and losers in today's France has replaced the old left-right split, leaving many on "the periphery".

As Guilluy shows, there is no unified French economy, and those cut off from the country's new economic citadels suffer disproportionately on both economic and social fronts. In Guilluy's analysis, the lip service paid to the idea of an "open society" in France is a smoke screen meant to hide the emergence of a closed society, walled off for the benefit of the upper classes. The ruling classes in France are reaching a dangerous stage, he argues; without the stability of a growing economy, the hope for those excluded from growth is extinguished, undermining the legitimacy of a multicultural nation.

©2019 Yale University; copyright 2016 by Flammarion, Paris (P)2019 Tantor

Want to understand French Yellow Vest and Trump

This book is translated to English and can be a bit obtuse at times to an American ear but the amount of insight is huge not just to the French but to much of global elites.

When trying to understand the issue of the Yellow Shirt Protest my friends in Paris were at a loss as to their complaints and to understand the issues. Most put it to racism or Islamophobia. This books foretells the coming troubles in the Yellow Shirt protest. It is explains in detail the reasons which are not racial at all and many could see coming.

This is not really about politics but the deterioration of conditions for the working poor in France. High unemployment, job insecurity, the inability of their family to move up the ladder to success and how the French media and politicians on all sides have condition them to accept a declining living standard. You may remember Obama's "the new normal" and why for elites their standard of living has improved during these times. It may be summarized as "globalism".

This book is not from a what would be called a conservative but a progressive in the french tradition.

Some of the things the elites in France do is label every one fascist or racist that may try and disagree with the current policies so as to protect their own interest. They contain any disagreement with their political positions by controlling the sources of information. After Brexit their was a move to change voting so that young peoples volts counted twice or not to count pensioners. This was something the explanations did not ring true but now it is clear as to the goal and why.

The elites now tend to ignore elections results they do not like.

Although written at a time of the last US election it is interesting what the author would say about the results of the election and what has occurred since. He states the elites will do everything possible to protect their position and status.

Good scholarship should help you understand the past and give you a clue to the future and this book does both.