The Myth of the Age of Entitlement: Millennials, Austerity, and Hope

"The Myth of the Age of Entitlement helps to puncture the invented entitled status that has been foisted onto millennials and provides an array of examples where millennials are bucking this myth, demanding their democratic entitlements, and telling the Margaret Wentes of the world to STFU (an acronym that Cairns also helpfully spells out on page 133)." Nora Loreto, Briarpatch Magazine

Cairns immediately grabs the reader, challenging prominent assumptions about the concept of entitlement and how it applies to millennials. [He presents] a counter-narrative that needs to become the new common sense. Bill Fletcher Jr., former president of TransAfrica Forum, co-author of Solidarity Divided and author of "They're Bankrupting Us!" And 20 Other Myths about Unions

...an excellent dissection of the plight of millennials that refutes slurs about their 'entitlement,' proposing instead a new sense of the word—that we deserve a society that guarantees a decent, secure life for everyone. Doug Henwood, Left Business Observer

A deeply necessary intervention into the debate about the millennial generation. James Cairns explodes 'the myth of the age of entitlement' and urges engagement with the demands of today's young radicals. Our futures may all depend on it. Sarah Jaffe, journalist and author of Necessary Trouble: Americans in Revolt

In this highly readable, bold study of disentitled millennials, Cairns provides a rare blend of savvy cultural analysis and rigorous research methods to explore fundamental questions about what we owe to each other and the meanings of human freedom. Jennifer Silva, Bucknell University, author of Coming Up Short: Working-Class Adulthood in an Age of Uncertainty