Barbara Ehrenreich revealed the grim side of prosperity

In more than 20 books and numerous articles and essays, she earned a reputation as a self-described “myth buster,” although her titles sometimes sounded more like a buzzkiller.

- Clarence Page

In 1989’s “Fear of Falling: The Inner Life of the Middle Class,” she examined the middle-class insecurities that led voters to turn to the political right in the century’s final decades.

In 2005’s “Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream,” she explored white-collar unemployment through the eyes of those who were falling behind while trying to get ahead.

In her 2009 book “Bright-sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America,” she took on the idea that everyone can pull themselves up by their own bootstraps without falling on their face.

Yet, she tried mightily to maintain a wry sense of humor in her tough-minded commentary. “After all, I wrote a book about joy,” she once insisted. “I’m not a sourpuss.”

Indeed, in stark contrast to her earlier “Blood Rites,” about the roots of humanity’s attraction to war, she lightened up with a stunningly optimistic work, “Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy,” about our relentless pursuit of communal happiness.