The Working Class Majority: America's Best Kept Secret

by Michael Zweig

The United States is not a middle class society. Michael Zweig shows that the majority of Americans are actually working class and argues that recognizing this fact is essential if that majority is to achieve political influence and social strength. "Class," Zweig writes, "is primarily a matter of power, not income." He goes beyond old formulations of class to explore ways in which class interacts with race and gender.Defining "working class" as those who have little control over the pace and content of their work and who do not supervise others, Zweig warns that by allowing this class to disappear into categories of middle class or consumers, we also allow those with the dominant power, capitalists, to vanish among the rich. Economic relations then appear as comparisons of income or lifestyle rather than as what they truly are—contests of power, at work and in the larger society.Using personal interviews, solid research, and down-to-earth examples, Zweig looks at a number of important contemporary social the growing inequality of income and wealth, welfare reform, globalization, the role of government, and the family values debate. He shows how, with class in mind, our understanding of these issues undergoes a radical shift.Believing that we must limit the power of capitalists to abuse workers, communities, and the environment, Zweig offers concrete ideas for the creation of a new working class politics in the United States.

Genres: Economics, Labor, Nonfiction, Politics, History, Class

198 pages, Paperback

First published April 13, 2000

Reviews

[Dan Prisk · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this book is fairly astute and useful in it's analysis of class. The principle factor here is that Zweig is discussing class in light of the power that a person wields (primarily in the workplace) rather than in terms of their income, as is fairly common in mainstream contemporary parlance. This is certainly not that revolutionary, and has strong ties to a Marxist understanding of class- the closer you are to ownership of the means of production the more power you have in a workplace. Zweig, however, never mentions Marx in his analysis other than to briefly mention it as a thing of the past; similarly when discussing race and gender at one point he comes very close to discussing an intersectional approach to these issues, and yet falls short. It does seem like Zweig isn't aware of the large body of theory out there that is available on these subjects, and his analysis - whilst valid and useful - suffers for not utilising it.

The second half gets a lot weaker. Here Zweig continues to extend a pretty strong critique of capitalism and the power of capitalists, however he couples this with a commentary that never questions capitalism as a mode of production overall. His entire discussion is focused around mitigating the worst impacts of capitalism, and he even offers strong endorsements of competition and productivity within capitalism without any attempt to support these ideas - that part is particularly galling considering a later point in the book where he defends public services through several examples that show the efficiency of public ownership. The whole second half of the book feels as though Zweig is close to a breakthrough in understanding, but never quite getting there. It gives the impression that he is simply taken as given many of the precepts of capitalism, and failing to look at the assumptions critically.

Overall then a mixed bag of a book. Relatively useful, easy to read, and somewhat valid analysis. But falling short in some critical ways.

[Rissa (rissasreading) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 - This is a really important book that everyone should read at least once in their life, especially with the way capitalism is changing and spreading, we as the working class need to view ourselves as "us" and capitalists as "them" who we need to fight against. From Chapter 1 of the book it made me realize something I had sort of noticed but didn't actually realize had happened, "class" has been removed from all political talks and it is assumed that the majority of the population is "middle-class" so policies are made with the middle-class in mind. In actuality, majority of the population are working class citizens. Class is based on the power you have and how it relates to your own choices and bargaining power. It's also fascinating to read books like this because it showcases that the era of "upward mobility" has virtually ended. The powers that be also want us to view strikes and unions as impactful to consumers because they want us to align more with our consumer identity than our worker identity. Capitalists belittle workers for asking for cuts and for asking for social services such as welfare but they cannot see their own entitlement. Capitalists get the most hand-outs in the form of tax cuts, bailouts, wage concessions, regulatory loopholes, and being able to buy candidates.
I also think it's important to note that calling workers/the working class as "low class" emphasizes and normalizes their mistreatment, it's a form of victim blaming them when they exist in a system that doesn't work for them and continues to make things even more unattainable.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this book does a great job of explaining who the working class are (and aren't), and how the working class ARE the majority in this country. The second half was of less interest to me, as it is more about labor unions and how the working class can organize for political gain. This is all well and good, but the book is 10 years old and the issues & resources they list are far out of date. Still, a helpful read on class.

[Algernon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 2012 second edition updates some of the data from the first edition and extends the book's analysis into the first administration of President Barack Obama and the great financial crisis in the United States that began in 2007.


An excellent and oft-cited work about class analysis as a way to clarify power relations in American capitalism.

[Bob Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book that combines solid sociology witha firm moral vision. Zweig is prescriptive sociologist who definitely wants to change the world of the working class into one that favors its interests. I plan to reread it. It has too many insights to read only once.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent, dynamic, and illuminating look at social class in America. It reminds us that class is deeper than many would believe, with power being a very important dimension of class.

[Diana Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear analysis of power and how it works to manipulate both the economy and public opinion and dilute the issue of class. Reminds us of how we got here. Relates national and international policies to the current dismal situation for the working class. I especially appreciated pointing out that although much of the “white middle class” and small business owners may appreciate the rhetoric of the small government right crowd, few benefit from their policies. Exposing the democrats role in shafting the working class and showing their role in the class is important for those who are not aware of it. Mainly, I think the importance of the book is that if more people would read it, they would see that we have a lot to unite around.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most important thing this book does is point out the way that American understanding of ‘class’ - based on income or life goals or education rather than power relations - has succeeded in obscuring the working class all together; this has made it much easier for the capitalist and corporate world to wage class war against workers without the workers even recognising what’s happened. Zweig suggests that only once we see the working class for who it really is can this corporate agenda be opposed.

[Ari Stillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

In his book, Zweig analyzes social class from the lens of power. He articulates how class power has changed throughout the 20th century with key legislation, politics, and rhetoric that were used both to empower and disempower the working class. While the first few chapters provide a helpful overview, some of the later chapters read as more tangential and ideological than factual – with the exception of a few pages tracing policies on unions before WW2. As the author makes sparse use of citations, this makes it difficult to take parts of his argument as seriously as a reader might like. Nevertheless, even though it's a bit dated, it's a worthwhile book for understanding the historical context of the working class in the United States and offers a vague though interesting idea of how workers can come to power for the good of all and what ethical capitalism would entail.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was fascinating to read in 2024, so close the end of the 35 year period. There’s nothing groundbreaking here, my view of the working class was not changed dramatically. I appreciated the chapter on global trade and the discussion of nationalism as a factor demonizing international trade. It was interesting to me that with so much discussion of deregulation, there was no prediction or warning of anything in the realm of the 2008 recession. loved but at points redundant