Who is ultimately responsible for global warming? Most often it’s cast as a problem we’ve all created equally, whether we’re rich or poor. In recent years, some attention has been paid to the top 10% of the population, whose high consumption lifestyles — large houses, large vehicles, and frequent plane flights — generate disproportionately large … Continued
Each election year, politicians make endless appeals for the votes of the middle class. But who, and what, is the middle class? David Roediger looks at the political history of an unwieldy category, from its Cold War role as a bulwark against Communism to the Democratic Party’s rebranding of working class voters to the radical … Continued
If I asked you to picture a digital activist, I’d wager that you’d envision a progressive. But sociologist Jen Schradie says that’s misguided. In fact, the typical profile of an internet activist is a conservative. Schradie discusses the internet and the left and right. Resources: Jen Schradie, The Revolution That Wasn’t: How Digital Activism Favors … Continued
In school we learn that, from its inception, the United States avoided the class sins of Europe, creating a level playing field without noblemen or kings, where those from the most humble backgrounds could succeed. Accordingly, class is usually missing from the history we’re taught. Yet historian Steve Fraser argues that the vision of American … Continued
Is the white working class a group of bigots? They’re the backbone of Donald Trump’s support, we’re told by the mainstream media, although it’s not clear if that’s actually true. Within the left, as well as the mainstream, there frequently is an assumption that white workers, particularly provincial white workers, are almost inherently reactionary—and that … Continued
