The Classless Society

by Kingston, Paul W.

• ISBN13: 9780804738040
• ISBN10: 0804738041
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-09-01
• Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr

Summary

Are there classes in America? InThe Classless SocietyPaul Kingston forcefully answers no. This book directly challenges a long-standing intellectual tradition of class analysis, recently revitalized by such prominent scholars as Erik Olin Wright and John Goldthorpe. Insisting on a realist conception of class, Kingston argues that presumed "classes" do not significantly share distinct, life-defining experiences. Individual chapters assess the extent of class structuration in five dimensions of life: mobility (how demographically cohesive are classes?), interaction patterns (do classes exist as communal groups?), cultural orientation (are there class cultures, as Bourdieu and his followers maintain?), class sentiment (to what extent do objective position and subjective sentiments align?), and political orientations (do classes represent distinct political forces?). This broad assessment is the basis for Kingston's conclusion that classes do not exist in America in any meaningful way. The Classless Societyanalyzes prominent general "maps" of the American class structure, as well as the less-studied extremes of socioeconomic position ("Lives of the Rich and Poor"), the alleged emergence of post-industrial classes (the "New Class" and the "McProletariat"), and class structuration in other societies ("American Unexceptionalism"). Kingston rigorously addresses the question, "How would you recognize a class if you saw one?" thus establishing clear grounds for engaging the issue. He relates the findings and methods of the best contemporary research in substantial detail, allowing the reader to assess the book's conclusions from a thorough evidentiary base.

Author Biography

Paul Kingston is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia. He is the author, most recently, of The Sociology of Public Issues (with Steven Nock).

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures	xiii
Preface	xv
Framing the Issue	1	(15)
What Is Class Theory?	4	(3)
The Theoretical Alternative	7	(2)
So What?	9	(1)
An Anticlass Orthodoxy?	10	(4)
Outline of the Book	14	(2)
The Case for Realism	16	(21)
The Criteria of Structuration	17	(6)
Structure vs. Formation?	23	(2)
Individuals and the Significance of Boundaries	25	(2)
Methodological Considerations	27	(10)
Class Maps and Inequality	37	(23)
The Cartography of Class	40	(7)
A Discursus on Wright's Logic	47	(3)
Occupations and Class	50	(2)
The Contours of Inequality	52	(8)
Mobility	60	(27)
Examining Mobility	62	(2)
The Evidence	64	(5)
The (W)right Analysis?	69	(7)
Intragenerational Mobility	76	(7)
A Digression on Income Fluctuations	83	(2)
Conclusion	85	(2)
Class Sentiment	87	(14)
The Right Name	89	(4)
Other Indicators	93	(4)
Consciousness in Action	97	(4)
The Politics of Class	101	(18)
The Party System	103	(2)
Voting	105	(3)
A New Dissent	108	(2)
Political Attitudes	110	(3)
Ownership	113	(5)
Conclusion	118	(1)
Class Culture	119	(30)
A Personal Excursis	119	(1)
Casting the Net	120	(3)
Bourdieu on Class: A Primer	123	(3)
Family Life	126	(8)
Class and the Arts	134	(6)
Searching for Boundaries	140	(4)
Metaphysics, Morals, and Class	144	(3)
All the Same?	147	(2)
On the Domestic Front: Friends, Residences, and Families	149	(10)
Friendships	149	(3)
Residence	152	(2)
All in the Family?	154	(5)
Lives of the Rich and Poor	159	(20)
Affluence, Ownership, and Pedigree	159	(7)
A Pedigreed Elite?	166	(6)
New Elites?	172	(1)
The Underclass	173	(6)
The Postindustrial Effect	179	(10)
A New Class?	179	(5)
McProletariat?	184	(3)
More General Concerns	187	(2)
American Unexceptionalism: A Comparative Perspective	189	(20)
Mobility	190	(7)
Politics and Consciousness	197	(8)
Inequality and Classlessness	205	(4)
Beyond Class	209	(28)
The Ideology of It All	213	(2)
What Is to Be Done?	215	(4)
The Past and Future	219	(4)
Occupational Solidarities	223	(3)
Waiting for Class?	226	(2)
Postclass Politics	228	(5)
Capitalism Triumphant	233	(4)
Notes	237	(6)
References	243	(10)
Index	253