“Each One Standing on the Other's Head”

Through the lens of Hannah Arendt’s writings on Jewish pariahdom, this chapter constructs an autoethnographic account of meaning making and identity construction in the age of what is often referred to as neoliberal capitalism. By synthesizing Arendt’s work and drawing it into the 21st century alongside personal journals, conversations with family, and reflective writing, parallels between Jewish pariahdom and a working-class pariahdom emerge. These parallels shed light on a cycle of oppression that can only be overcome by the conscious pariah, a central figure in Arendt’s writings.