The Classless Society by Paul W. Kingston Stanford University Press, 2000 Social Inequality Series editors: Marta Tienda and David Grusky

Are there classes in America? In The Classless Society Paul Kingston forcefully answers no.
This book directly challenges a long-standing intellectual tradition of class analysis, recently revitalized by such prominent scholars as Erik Olin Wright and John Goldthorpe. Insisting on a realist conception of class, Kingston argues that presumed classes do not significantly share distinct, life-defining experiences.

Individual chapters assess the extent of class structuration in five dimensions of life: mobility (how demographically cohesive are classes?), interaction patterns (do classes exist as communal groups?), cultural orientation (are there class cultures, as Bourdieu and his followers maintain?), class sentiment (to what extent do objective postidion and subjective sentiments align?), and political orientations (do classes represent distinct political forces?). This broad assessment is the basis for Kingston's conclusion that classes do not exist in America in any meaningful way.

The Classless Society analyzes prominent general maps of the American class structure, as well as the less-studied extremes of socioeconomic position ("Live of the Rich and Poor "), the alleged emergence of post-industrial classes (the "New Class" and the "McProletariat"), and class structuration in other societies ("American Unexceptionalism").

Kingston rigorously addresses the question, How would you recognize a class if you saw one?, thus establishing clear grounds for engaging the issue. He relates the findings and methods of the best contemporary research in substantial detail, allowing the reader to assess the book's conclusions from a thorough evidentiary base.

More books by Paul Kingston

• Maternity Policies and Working Women
• The Wages of Writing - Per Word, Per Piece, or Perhaps
• The Sociology of Public Issues
• The High Status Track: Studies of Elite Schools & Stratification