The Moral Underground
How Ordinary Americans Subvert an Unfair Economy
Called a “fascinating exploration of economic civil disobedience” by Publishers Weekly, Lisa Dodson’s stunning book The Moral Underground features stories of middle-class managers and professionals who refuse to be complicit in an economy that puts a decent life beyond the reach of the working poor. Whether it’s a nurse choosing to treat an uninsured child, a supervisor padding a paycheck, or a restaurant manager sneaking food to a worker’s children, these unsung heroes reach across the economic fault line to restore a sense of justice to the working world.
This vivid account of working-class America is based on Dodson’s eight years of research and conversations with hundreds of Americans about the need to create ethical alternatives to rules that ignore the humanity of working parents and put their children and risk.
Lisa Dodson worked as a union activist, an obstetrical nurse, and the director of the Division of Women's Health for the state of Massachusetts before becoming a professor of sociology at Boston College. She is the author of The Moral Underground: How Ordinary Americans Subvert an Unfair Economy (The New Press) and Don't Call Us Out of Name. She lives in Auburndale, Massachusetts.
