Politics and the Class Divide

David Croteau, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University, is co-author of By Invitation Only: How the Media Limits Political Debate.

"In this useful introduction to the connection between social class and political participation in the modern United States, David Croteau explores the 'class divide' separating middle-class activism and working-class non-participation in left political and social movements."-Labour History Review

• Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: Different Worlds Part I: Democracy, Social Movements, and Class 1. The Promise of Democracy 2. The Changing Face of Social Movements 3. Class and Politics Part II: Class, Culture, and Political Participation 4. "It's Just Politics": Politicians and the System 5. "It Doesn't Make a Difference": The Absence of Efficacy 6. "People Really Don't Think About It": Interest and Motivations 7. "People Have Got Their Hands Full": Material Resources and Constraint 8. "They're Speaking the Same Language": Cultural Resources 9. "It Takes a Special Kind of Person": Knowledge 10. "You Do Your Work, You Pay Your Bills...You Hope It All Turns Out Okay": Politics, Work, and the Private Citizen 11. Class Diversity and the Future of Social Movements Appendix A: Class: Structure and Collective Action Appendix B: The Concept of Culture Appendix C: Methods Notes References Index