Arthur J. Vidich - Böcker

This volume is designed first to provide a theoretical orientation and historical perspective on the rise of the middle classes in modern civilization, and second, to portray the social and political roles these classes have played and continue to play in the United States over the past century, with particular reference to the American class structure and political economy. The essays in this book were written between 1926 and 1982: they reveal both the genealogical development of sociological thought about the middle classes and the substantive content of these classes' life styles, status claims and political orientations. The collection stresses empirical studies and puts forth neither a theoretical interpretation nor a conceptual taxonomy: rather it delineates the emergence and the social and political significance of the new middle classes in relation to the classes, above and below, that preceeded them.

In America's much-touted classless society, the middle class--decried by some as a mythical construct and heralded by others as the embodiment of the American dream--has always occupied a central and controversial position. This book explores the origins of the new middle classes that emerged in the 20th century, revealing the relationship of these classes to capitalism, bureaucracy, and politics. The book is divided into four parts, addressing: the theoretical problems and historical changes brought on by the emergence of the new middle classes; status and the psychology of class; the middle class in America; and the lifestyles and political orientations of the middle classes in the United States.

In America's much-touted classless society, the middle class--decried by some as a mythical construct and heralded by others as the embodiment of the American dream--has always occupied a central and controversial position. This book explores the origins of the new middle classes that emerged in the 20th century, revealing the relationship of these classes to capitalism, bureaucracy, and politics. The book is divided into four parts, addressing: the theoretical problems and historical changes brought on by the emergence of the new middle classes; status and the psychology of class; the middle class in America; and the lifestyles and political orientations of the middle classes in the United States.