The Violent Underpinnings of American Life : New York University Press : 9781479814848 : 1479814849 : 03 Oct 2023 : A damning examination of how violence serves to maintain social order and elite power in the United States The Violent Underpinnings of American Life boldly asserts that violence-far from going against American ideals-is as American as apple pie, central to the country's social order and the dominance of its most powerful groups. Drawing from extensive research and analysis of key social, political, and cultural events, Liam Downey investigates the myriad ways violence maintains the American way of life. Through compelling case studies, Downey identifies four main ways in which violence produces and maintains the American social hierarchy: the creation of divisions among non-elite social groups; the reinforcement of dominant discourses in multiple social arenas; the aligning of marginalized group identities with dominant institutional practices; and the selective promotio