The Decimation of America's Middle Class and Its Meaning for Social Work

The current deterioration of America's middle class will test the ability of the social work profession to take the concept of class seriously and sharpen our understanding of the maldistribution of wealth as a form of oppression. The effort requires identifying and discrediting prevailing ideologies in both the popular culture and our profession. The middle-class crisis provides the opportunity to devise innovative coalitions of working-class and middle-class Americans. Recent efforts may point the way for social workers to help catalyze such movements.