The American Class Structure in an Age of Growing Inequality

The American Class Structure in an Age of Growing Inequality, Eleventh Edition reveals how social class affects our everyday lives, from who we marry and how we raise our kids to where we live and how we vote. Dennis Gilbert emphasizes the socioeconomic core of the class system. A major theme running through the book is the growing inequality in American society. The author describes the shift, beginning in the mid-1970s, from an Age of Shared Prosperity to an Age of Growing Inequality. Using fresh data on jobs, wages, income, wealth, and poverty, he measures the widening gap between the privileged classes and average Americans. He repeatedly returns to the question, "Why is this happening?" Economic, political and social factors are examined, and the competing explanations of influential writers are critically assessed. In the final chapter, Gilbert synthesizes the book’s lessons about the power of class and the forces behind growing inequality. Included with this title: The password-protected Instructor Resource Site (formally known as SAGE Edge) offers access to all text-specific resources, including a test bank and editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Social Class in America Chapter 2 Position and Prestige Chapter 3 Social Class, Occupation, and Social Change Chapter 4 Wealth and Income Chapter 5 Socialization, Association, Lifestyles, and Values Chapter 6 Social Mobility: The Societal Context Chapter 7 Family, Education, and Career Chapter 8 Elites, the Capitalist Class, and Political Power Chapter 9 Class Consciousness and Class Conflict Chapter 10 Poverty and Public Policy Chapter 11 The American Class Structure and Growing Inequality

About the Author :
Dennis Gilbert is Professor of Sociology Emeritus at Hamilton College. His publications include The Oligarchy and the Old Regime in Latin America, 1880 to 1970 (2017), Mexico’s Middle Class in the Neoliberal Era (2007), and Sandinistas: The Party and the Revolution (1991).