The New Class in Post-industrial Society

The traditional class analysis of politics in industrial societies described a politics that pitted the well-off business class against the less well-off working class in a "democratic class struggle." This book holds that economic development has produced a new class which rivals the business class in the politics of post-industrial societies. Based in the professions with high levels of education, the New Class' interests are served by the expansion of government. Extensive analysis of survey and aggregate data show that liberal and left politics is indeed based in these social groups, and not among low status workers. American politics today is best understood as a conflict between the new class and the traditional business class, with the working class supporting one of the elite classes, depending on the issue and political context.

John McAdams is Associate Professor of Political Science at Marquette University, USA. With a doctorate from Harvard University, USA, he has published on voting behavior, public policy, and the death penalty in journals such as The American Journal of Political Science, The Journal of Politics, Sociological Quarterly and Law and Contemporary Problems.

1. The Theory of the New Class
2. The Three Class Worldviews
3. Class Voting in Presidential Elections
4. Class and Politics: Referendum Data
5. The Class Basis of Elite Partisanship: Convention Delegates
6. The Class Basis of Political Radicalism
7. The Class Basis of Congressional Liberalism
8. The Case of Government Workers
9. Lifestyle: An Expression of Class Identification
10. Conclusion: The Future and Class and Politics