i am reading "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair.

it's a classic novel about the daily struggles of a poor immigrant family thru extremely difficult meat-packing and industrial factory work. the book touches upon inflation a tiny bit (mostly thru hidden fees), but it's mostly narrating how the people are pushed to work harder and faster until they die.

author's commentary: "i wrote with tears and anguish, pouring into the pages all the pain that life had meant to me."

i listened to the Mandibles audio book a little bit - it accurately documents how life in the Western societies will unfold. one can watch it unfold, or one can start building resilient communities and refuse to let that story unfold.