Nice Is Not Enough: Inequality and the Limits of Kindness at American High
By C. J. Pascoe, associate professor, Department of Sociology
September 13, 2023
This provocative story of contemporary high school argues that a shallow culture of kindness can do more lasting harm than good.
Based on two years of research, Nice Is Not Enough shares striking dispatches from one high school’s “regime of kindness” to underline how the culture operates as a Band-Aid on persistent inequalities. Through incisive storytelling and thoughtful engagement with students, this brilliant study by C. J. Pascoe exposes uncomfortable truths about American politics and our reliance on individual solutions instead of profound systemic change.