During periods when people are beset with economic anxiety, they become more receptive to political messages that deflect attention away from the real and complex sources of their problems. To ...

William Julius Wilson
William Julius Wilson is Geyser University Professor at Harvard. A recipient of the 1998 National Medal of Science, the highest scientific honor bestowed in the United States, his many publications include three award-winning books—The Declining Significance of Race (1978, 1980, 2012), The Truly Disadvantaged (1987, 2012), and When Work Disappears (1996). (Author photograph by Martha Stewart)