A Retort to the Toxic Myth of the Self-Made in America
Co-published with Nieman Reports. Alissa Quart on the reporting behind her book “Bootstrapped."
How the U.S. Shames and Blames People for Poverty
Co-published with Teen Vogue. And what we can do about it.
A National Bullying of the Poor: The Trouble With America’s Bootstrapping Myth
Co-published with The Guardian. Centuries of American thought support a hypocritical ideology that can be difficult to escape even when we want to.
The Lie of the Hustle
Co-published with Fast Company. Hustle-porn attempted to rebrand the instability of living paycheck to paycheck to sound fun and flexible but those doing the work know the real story.
Little House of Propaganda: Homesteading Myths and the Sentimentality of Self-Reliance
Co-published with Literary Hub. Alissa Quart on the bootstrap narratives of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
How the Horatio Alger Lie Helped Shape the Myth of American Upward Mobility
Co-published with Rolling Stone. An exclusive excerpt from the new book Bootstrapped explodes the fantasy at the heart of the American dream.
How Ditching America’s ‘Bootstraps’ Myth Can Open Up Politics
Co-published with The Washington Post. Politicians are beginning to more regularly challenge the "bootstraps" model.
Bootstrapping Has Always Been A Myth. The New American Dream Proves It
Co-published with TIME. Relentless individualism has been part of America's ethos. Not anymore, writes Alissa Quart.