How Class Works

Library Journal

"Class power sets the framework of what is politically possible," observes sociologist/ activist Aronowitz (Graduate Ctr., CUNY; coeditor, Paradigm Lost: State Theory Reconsidered) in his most recent in a long line of books on social politics. Aronowitz is both scholarly (abundant notes support his arguments) and personal (he uses the first person and makes no bones about his own beliefs) as he dispels the myth of America as a classless society, a land of "equal opportunity." Frequently citing predecessor and fellow sociologist C. Wright Mills, Aronowitz goes beyond traditional concepts of social stratification by including discussion of social groups (e.g., feminists, environmentalists, and labor movements) and their "historicity" (the conditions that led to their creation). By understanding the inherent power of these groups, we see how they can implement change. Readers may find this book somewhat sprawling; Aronowitz's range is wide (he includes commentary on international power blocs) and opinionated (he takes on, for example, the "Scions of Old Money" and their presumed acceptance-no matter their qualifications-to Ivy League schools). But if this book is provocative, it is also erudite. Appropriate for larger public, academic, and special libraries.-Ellen Gilbert, Princeton, NJ Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.