White Working Class: Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America

ISBN-13: 9781633693784 / Angielski / Twarda / 2017 / 192 str.

Joan C. Williams

Opis

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.

Recenzje

"her diagnosis of the problem is spot-on and consistently thought-provoking." -- Bloomberg View

"A wake-up call for the elite, as well as an analysis of the state of the world." -- Fly BMI

"One of the essential tomes of the Trump era." -- Financial Times

"White Working Class should be read by every mopey, whining, delusional Democrat still trying to figure out how the forecasters got the presidential election so wrong." -- Barron's

"Written like a Victorian explorer encountering unknown tribes on the Congo... [Williams] charts the origins of Trump's appeal." -- The Guardian

"One of the strengths of Williams's book is the author's willingness to call out such callousness and hypocrisy among her fellow travelers... a quick read and a good-faith effort at cultural and class introspection." -- The Washington Post

"Dr. Williams, distinguished law professor at the University of California, clearly explains 'why so much of the elite's analysis of the white working class is misguided, rooted in class cluelessness.'" -- Newsmax

"In her book, a readable volume of just 180 pages ... Williams tackles issues from working-class resentment of the poor and professionals, and apparently contradictory support of the rich, to how elites gain self-worth from merit while the working class gains self-worth from morality." -- The Australian

"This book aims to help American progressive forces better understand the white working class, so as to bring this group back into a broad democratic coalition. It is clearly and powerfully written and effective and is a must-read for everyone wanting to bridge the cultural silos that are now defining American politics." -- Michele Lamont, President of the American Sociological Association and author of The Dignity of Working Men

"Williams's principal point--that the privileged are too condescending toward the working class--is surely correct. Her book will help some professionals think twice about their attitudes and assumptions toward those who have less money or especially less education." -- The New York Review of Books

"My book of the week is White Working Class by Joan Williams, a very smart, caustic book that tries to understand the dynamic behind Donald Trump's legions of supporters. The author tries to explain to America's elites why the working class resents them, professionals, who tell them how to live, work, get educated, eat, dress and behave. It's tough love for a group that generally doesn't get much pushback." -- Fareed Zakaria, CNN

"American law professor Joan Williams has just written a powerful book dissecting these discontents, The White Working Class. Among her searing insights is that class consciousness on the left has been replaced by class cluelessness, even callousness." -- The Toronto Star

"The people Joan Williams describes are my people, for better or for worse...buy her book, White Working Class. It's very practical." -- Rod Dreher, The American Conservative

"Recommended reading: At least a dozen good books have come out on why the white working class turned so powerfully against Democrats.... The most insightful of these include Joan Williams' White Working Class: Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America ..." -- Robert Kuttner for NPR's Truth, Politics and Power

"Making an admirable and research-driven effort to see things from the point of view of her subject, author Williams unpacks exactly how the white working class (WWC) viewed the election, and how their history-making choice made a lot of sense given their concerns." -- New York Post

"...will undoubtedly be another best-selling book..." -- New York Magazine

"Joan C. Williams is on a post-Trump mission to explore the 'broken' relationship between America's liberal elite and the white working class" - The Financial Times

Advance Praise for White Working Class:

Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO, New America--
"Joan C. Williams has an uncanny knack for striking at the

O autorze

Joan C. Williams is Distinguished Professor of Law and Hastings Foundation Chair at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Williams's work includes What Works for Women at Work, coauthored with Rachel Dempsey (New York University Press, 2014); Unbending Gender: Why Family and Work Conflict and What To Do About It (Oxford University Press, 2000); and such widely read reports as "The Three Faces of Work-Family Conflict," coauthored with Heather Boushey. Williams is frequently featured as an expert on social class. For more information, visit JoanCWilliams.com.