Ehrenreich, who I have a lot of respect for, disagrees with us in Smile Or Die.
She describes American culture as having a “mandatory optimism”. The unemployed are sent to support groups where they are told being laid off is a good thing because it is an opportunity.
“Delusion is always a mistake”.
At the most extreme this goes beyond Magical Voluntarism and into sheer crackpot mysticism – Ehrenreich cites the success of the book The Secret, and its authors view that tsunami victims must have been sending out negative energy into the world.
the walls pull back 