"I recommend a book by Professor Williams, it is really worth a read, it's called White Working Class." -- Vice President Joe Biden on Pod Save America An Amazon Best Business and Leadership book of 2017 Around the world, populist movements are gaining traction among the white working class. Meanwhile, members of the professional elite—journalists, managers, and establishment politicians--are on the outside looking in, left to argue over the reasons. In White Working Class, Joan C. Williams, described as having "something approaching rock star status" by the New York Times, explains why so much of the elite's analysis of the white working class is misguided, rooted in class cluelessness. Williams explains that many people have conflated "working class" with "poor"--but the working class is, in fact, the elusive, purportedly disappearing middle class. They often resent the poor and the professionals alike. But they don't resent the truly rich, nor are they particularly bothered by income inequality. Their dream is not to join the upper middle class, with its different culture, but to stay true to their own values in their own communities--just with more money. While white working-class motivations are often dismissed as racist or xenophobic, Williams shows that they have their own class consciousness. White Working Class is a blunt, bracing narrative that sketches a nuanced portrait of millions of people who have proven to be a potent political force. For anyone stunned by the rise of populist, nationalist movements, wondering why so many would seemingly vote against their own economic interests, or simply feeling like a stranger in their own country, White Working Class will be a convincing primer on how to connect with a crucial set of workers--and voters.

It wasn't so long ago that the white working class occupied the middle of British and American societies. But today members of the same demographic, feeling silenced and ignored by mainstream parties, have moved to the political margins. In the United States and the United Kingdom, economic disenfranchisement, nativist sentiments and fear of the unknown among this group have even inspired the creation of new right-wing parties and resulted in a remarkable level of support for fringe political candidates, most notably Donald Trump. Answers to the question of how to rebuild centrist coalitions in both the U.S. and U.K. have become increasingly elusive. How did a group of people synonymous with Middle Britain and Middle America drift to the ends of the political spectrum? What drives their emerging radicalism? And what could possibly lead a group with such enduring numerical power to, in many instances, consider themselves a "minority" in the countries they once defined? In The New Minority, Justin Gest speaks to people living in once thriving working class cities--Youngstown, Ohio and Dagenham, England--to arrive at a nuanced understanding of their political attitudes and behaviors. In this daring and compelling book, he makes the case that tension between the vestiges of white working class power and its perceived loss have produced the unique phenomenon of white working class radicalization.

A powerful look at the real America, dominated by America's "forgotten majority"-white working-class men and women who make up 55 percent of the voting population

Publisher Description

In the aftermath of the 2012 elections some progressive commentators have drawn the mistaken conclusion that the Democratic coalition no longer needs to win the support of any significant number of white working class Americans. The high turnout and pro-Democrats tilt of youth, minorities, single women and upscale professionals in 2012 has led some political strategists to imagine a new "Obama coalition" that does not need to include white working Americans. Andrew Levison's remarkable new book dramatically challenges this false notion and presents a compelling case that winning the support of a substantial group of white working class Americans remains absolutely critical for the creation of a stable Democratic majority. The book very dramatically shows: That white workers remain a critical swing group in American politics That white workers represent a far larger part of the workforce than is often thought. That white workers are not all "conservative" but include many progressives and moderates as well. The book presents extensive data drawn from demographic analysis, opinion polls, focus groups and field research to butress its dramatic conclusions Reviews: Andy Levison's The White Working Class Today is a tremendous contribution to our understanding of this vital group. Too many progressives dismiss the white working class as either irrelevant or hopelessly reactionary or both. Levison shows in this compelling, empirically grounded work just how wrong they are. I don't often describe a book as a "must read." This is one. Ruy Teixeira, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution and Author of The Emerging Democratic Majority: The White Working Class Today is a studious, well-researched, and timely signal to progressives that we cannot ignore today's Reagan Democrats. Levison is a rare voice in progressive and Democratic circles today, and this book raises critical questions about how progressives should think about, define, and address the needs of the white working class. Stan Greenberg, leading Democratic pollster, political strategist and advisor to Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, Tony Blair and other progressive leaders "In "White Working Class Today," Andrew Levison offers us a powerful analysis and solution to one of the most important dynamics in politics -- the alienation between white working class voters and liberals. Levision fills a large void in an important discussion, explaining exactly how the Democratic coalition can break the political stalemate, bring this important group into the fold and move a stable, progressive agenda forward. Karen Nussbaum, Executive director of Working America, the 3 million member community affiliate of the AFL-CIO. Andrew Levison's book assesses today's white working class from a fresh, empirically-grounded perspective, and provides unique insight for all those who want to understand this critically important segment of U.S. society and political life. Ed Kilgore, political commentator, author of the Washington Monthly's Political Animal.

An enduring history of how race and class came together to mark the course of the antebellum US and our present crisis. Roediger shows that in a nation pledged to independence, but less and less able to avoid the harsh realities of wage labor, the identity of "white" came to allow many Northern workers to see themselves as having something in common with their bosses. Projecting onto enslaved people and free Blacks the preindustrial closeness to pleasure that regimented labor denied them, "white workers" consumed blackface popular culture, reshaped languages of class, and embraced racist practices on and off the job. Far from simply preserving economic advantage, white working-class racism derived its terrible force from a complex series of psychological and ideological mechanisms that reinforced stereotypes and helped to forge the very identities of white workers in opposition to Blacks. Full of insight regarding the precarious positions of not-quite-white Irish immigrants to the US and the fate of working class abolitionism, Wages of Whiteness contributes mightily and soberly to debates over the 1619 Project and critical race theory.

A New York Times Bestseller A Wall Street Journal Bestseller A New York Times Notable Book of 2020 A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Shortlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year A New Statesman Book to Read From economist Anne Case and Nobel Prize winner Angus Deaton, a groundbreaking account of how the flaws in capitalism are fatal for America's working class Deaths of despair from suicide, drug overdose, and alcoholism are rising dramatically in the United States, claiming hundreds of thousands of American lives. Anne Case and Angus Deaton explain the overwhelming surge in these deaths and shed light on the social and economic forces that are making life harder for the working class. As the college educated become healthier and wealthier, adults without a degree are literally dying from pain and despair. Case and Deaton tie the crisis to the weakening position of labor, the growing power of corporations, and a rapacious health-care sector that redistributes working-class wages into the pockets of the wealthy. This critically important book paints a troubling portrait of the American dream in decline, and provides solutions that can rein in capitalism's excesses and make it work for everyone.