How Class Works: Power and Social Movement

by Stanley Aronowitz

Overview

Although Americans like to believe that they live in a classless society, Stanley Aronowitz demonstrates that class remains a potent force. Defining class as the power of social groups to make a difference, he explains that social groups such as labor movements, environmental activists, and feminists become classes when they make demands that change the course of history.
“With How Class Works Aronowitz puts the subject of social class squarely on the intellectual agenda—though in a new, inclusive, and dynamic form. Like his influential False Promises, How Class Works is both intellectually exciting and morally challenging.”—Barbara Ehrenreich
“In How Class Works Aronowitz argues for the enduring vitality of the concept of social class as a way of understanding social relations. This is a significant contribution to social theory, an argument certain to be widely considered, debated, and tested.”—George Lipsitz, author of American Studies in a Moment of Danger
“An intellectually captivating book on a topic that remains as timely and significant as ever.”—Howard Kimeldorf, University of Michigan

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300105049
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	07/11/2004
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Stanley Aronowitz is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	vii
	Introduction	1
1	Class Matters	12
2	Time and Space in Class Theory	38
3	History and Class Theory	63
4	Does the United States Have a Ruling Class?	92
5	National and International Blocs	122
6	The New Social Movements and Class	141
7	Ecology and Class	171
8	Utopia on Hold	199
	Notes	231
	Index	253

Editorial Reviews

"In How Class Works Aronowitz argues for the enduring vitality of the concept of social class as a way of understanding social relations. This is a significant contribution to social theory, an argument certain to be widely considered, debated, and tested.”—George Lipsitz, author of American Studies in a Moment of Danger"Few scholars have the erudition or the courage to tackle such an expansive set of issues. We are fortunate that Aronowitz has both. He has produced an intellectually captivating book on a topic that remains as timely and significant as ever."—Howard Kimeldorf, Professor of Sociology, University of Michigan



“Once again Stanley Aronowitz has shaken up our complacent notions about social reality, and challenged his readers with a provocative reflection on past, present, and future popular movements for change. Whether one agrees with Aronowitz or not, there is something worth thinking about on every page of this, his newest, book.”—Phil Nicholson, Long Island Newsletter

From the Publisher