In search of a new working class

This paper examines the contemporary “theory of the new middle class” in so far as it purports to be the definitive rejection of Marx' original theory of class dynamics. Dealing with the question of an adequate definition of the “middle class,” the paper pursues two themes. First, it addresses the increasingly common argument that the various social classes in modern American society have become effectively indistinguishable in matters of consciousness and social outlooks. Second, it concerns itself with the outlook of the new working class. Data based on the 1972 – 1976 NORC General Social Surveys is examined in an attempt to clarify these issues. Author's Note: An earlier version of this paper was read at the annual meetings of the Eastern Sociological Society in New York, March 19, 1977. Data were made available by the National Opinion Research Center, Roper Public Opinion Research Center, and the Survey Archive for the Social Sciences, whose assistance is gratefully acknowledged. I also thank the University Computing Center and the Social and Demographic Research Institute (both of the University of Massachusetts) for their contributions to the research. Finally, my thanks to Richard Hamilton for detailed comments on an earlier draft, to Marianne Pietras for assistance in the data analysis, and to the Thursday Night Nine for sharpening my interest in problems of class and class structure in industrial society. Analysis and conclusions, of course, are my responsibility.