Class Counts: Education, Inequality, and the Shrinking Middle Class

The question of economic class is as important to American society today as it has been since ancient Greek and Roman times, argues Ornstein (education, St. Johns U.). He describes the role of class in American history and connects it to contending political philosophies from the differences between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton to the present day. He also describes the effects of class on educational opportunities and later life courses and argues that increasing class inequality threatens American democracy. He concludes with recommendations on how reduce class inequality and how to reconnect American politics to pocketbook issues. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Class counts. Class differences and class warfare have existed since the beginning of western civilization, but the gap in income and wealth between the rich (top 10 percent) and the rest has increased steadily in the last twenty-five years.