Synopses & Reviews
Should class be used to analyze society? For years class was the concept used to look at society. As a concept it enabled analysts to interpret social conflict and predict the course of social development. Today, however, class analysis is under fire. Richly illustrated and written in a refreshing jargon-free style, this book injects a distinctive new note of dissent in the use of class to make sense of life in modern times. The authors present revealing arguments that demonstrate the limitations of class analysis; indeed, they clearly show how the class perspective has become a political straitjacket that obstructs an accurate understanding of contemporary social, cultural, and political processes. To scholars and students engaged in any form of social analysis, The Death of Class is a must.
Synopsis
Traditionally class has been the key concept for understanding society, enabling analysts to interpret social conflict and predict the course of social development. Critics argue that it is too crude and incapable of handling the nuances of the new identity politics. Jan Pakulski and Malcolm Waters take the radical position within the current debates that class is a purely historical phenomenon.
This stimulating book argues that concentration on class actually diverts attention from other more central and more morally problematic inequalities. The class perspective has become a political straitjacket which obstructs an accurate understanding of contemporary social, cultural and political processes.