The New Politics of Class

Klaus Eder has written extensively on class, social movements and social structure. He is author of the New Politics of Class (SAGE 1993).

`Addresses important questions and has some interesting things to say about them... [the book] is a `sampler′ of the work of a social theorist who is already influential in Germany.... Eder is clearly an astute and well-informed analyst′ - Theory, Culture & Society`Eder makes a significant contribution to the development of a theory of social movements which avoids the reductive tendencies of Marxism while at the same time allowing us to perceive the new social movements as more than free floating interest groups... Eder′s essays are theoretically rigorous and innovative′ - Political Studies`Provides a good occasion to get to know this important German sociologist.... Eder′s theorizing is very rich, full of provocative conceptual ideas and sound insights′ - American Journal of Sociology`Eder′s work is systematic, rigorous and an important statement of the NSM (New Social Movements) approach′ - Choice

• INTRODUCTIONCLASS AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTSBringing Classes Back into the Theory of SocietyCulture as the Missing Link Between Class and Collective ActionPART ONE: MODERNIZING THE NOTION OF CLASSContradictions and Social EvolutionA Theory of the Role of Class in the Production of ModernityBeyond Class as a Historical SubjectTowards a Theoretical Construction of Collective ActorsPART TWO: RECONNECTING CULTURE AND CLASSCulture and ClassBourdieu′s Culturalist Refraction of the Traditional Theory of ClassThe Cognitive Representations of Social InequalityA Sociological Account of the Cultural Basis of Modern Class SocietyPART THREE: THE THEORY OF NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: A CHALLENGE TO CLASS THEORY?A New Social Movement?The Continuing Vitality of the Theory of the ′New Social Movements′Counterculture Movements against ModernityNature as a New Field of Class Struggle?PART FOUR: NEW CLASS CONFLICTS? THE THEORY OF MIDDLE CLASS RADICALISMThe ′New Social Movements′Moral Crusades, Political Pressure Groups, or a Social Movement?Does Social Class Matter in the Study of Social Movements?A New Theory of Middle Class RadicalismCONCLUSION: BEYOND TRADITIONAL CLASS THEORYFrom the Crisis of Class Politics to the Critique of Class PoliticsReflecting the Role of ′Crisis Discourses′ in Modern Society