Living on the Spectrum: Autism and Youth in Community

time and several adjacent fields, demonstrating both an encyclopedic knowledge of the topic and an enviable ability to communicate concisely. Additionally, the topic is as important as ever in the face of ‘‘unconscionable levels’’ (p. 255) of economic inequality in the United States. A major strength of the book is that it explicitly frames individualism as part of a network of ideologies including beliefs about race and gender. There is substantial evidence that racial stereotypes strongly influence how Americans see welfare. Racially resentful Americans oppose generous welfare policies to avoid helping ‘‘undeserving’’ groups and individuals. The intersection of racism and sexism is particularly evident when the ‘‘welfare queen’’ trope, popularized by Ronald Reagan, is evoked. Contrary to the evidence, anecdotes of single Black mothers allegedly relishing welfaresupported luxuries abound. This narrative is used as a frequent justification to limit welfare generosity and impose stringent welfare requirements, such as family caps. This happens because, as the authors convincingly argue, many Americans understand poverty and inequality through an individualistic rather than a structural vocabulary, paying too much attention to ‘‘who loses the economic game rather than to addressing the fact that the game produces losers in the first place’’ (pp. 26–27). Finally, the authors truly excel in their ability to bring in an outstanding set of diverse scholars to join the conversation and reinforce the authors’ argument in a section that is very pleasant to read. Particularly insightful are the contributions of David Brady and Jamila Michener. Brady’s argument about poverty is compelling: the major risk factors for poverty are single parenthood, young headship, low education, and unemployment. The United States is above average only in single parenthood rates; thus, we shouldn’t expect as much poverty as we see. Poverty is just a political choice: the main difference between the United States and other rich democracies is ‘‘not the number of people with those individual characteristics, but the fact that we penalize the heck out of people with those characteristics’’ (p. 144). Michener’s discussion of racism is equally powerful. She introduces the reader to research showing that many Americans see Black people as ‘‘not even fully human’’ (p. 149). Under this perspective, if one believes that Black people are ‘‘bound to fail’’ and ‘‘inherently inferior’’ (p. 149), incarcerating them makes more sense than supporting them with generous policies. The book ends with a look at the future. On the one hand, the authors give us some hope by noting how recent surveys show that many Americans, and young Americans in particular, seem ready to leave rugged individualism behind. On the other hand, the afterword, penned by Noam Chomsky, raises some fears. The influential intellectual discusses an eerie resemblance between current times and the 1930s, when concentrations of wealth, political power, and unsustainable levels of poverty led to destructive reactions that wreaked havoc across the world. Popular movements are rising on both sides: which one will prevail? Overall, this is a timely and welcome contribution to scholarship at the intersection of ideology, inequality, poverty, and policy, one that will benefit researchers, teachers, students, and practitioners who engage in these areas.