Why is there no socialism in the United States? DiMaggios landmark study, Unequal America, achieves the gold standard of theory and research, answering that question through careful review of survey data, interviews, considerations of American history, news media and recent social movements. His exhaustive analysis shows why Americans generally have little critical understanding of the class system, which is obscured by beliefs that most American are middle class, that hard work leads to success, and that the poor live well. His analysis is a must read for all scholars, policy makers and activists concerned with understanding inequality and how to change it.
Lauren Langman, Professor, Department of Sociology, Loyola UniversityChicago, author of God, Guns, Gold, and Glory: American Character and its Discontents
Amid the explosion of books now available on economic inequality, DiMaggios book is as sobering as it is provocative. Few studies look at how economic inequality shapes consciousness, but this book shows that false consciousness is an essential feature of capitalism and the inequality it breeds. DiMaggio provides us with something other scholars of inequality consistently overlook: that inequality creates its own system of justification, sealing it off from criticism and social change. His book is as rigorous as it is bold, and it is essential reading for anyone studying economic inequality. His political acumen is matched by his social scientific skill, and the result is a major step forward in our understanding of inequality.
Michael J. Thompson, Professor of Political Science, William Paterson University, author of The Politics of Inequality: A Political History of the Idea of Economic Inequality in America
From a strong theoretical base and using a mixed-method empirical approach, DiMaggio presents a comprehensive examination of the way Americans think about economic inequality. This volume offers a glimpse into the American mind, fully supported from both novel and previously available data and complete with discussion of the COVID-19 pandemic. Readers will find the results of his interviews compelling, in conjunction with the public opinion data that undergirds their depth and power. DiMaggio neatly weaves discussion of trends in public opinion about inequality with the reasons for it, as he creates an accessible narrative that will inspire readers to grapple with some of the core challenges of our time.
Stephen Caliendo, Dean of College of Arts and Science, North Central College, author of Inequality in America: Race, Poverty, and Fulfilling Democracys Promise
UNEQUAL AMERICA
This book examines Americans and their beliefs about the class divide in the United States. It argues that Americans beliefs about class and the economic divide develop through a multistep process. Economic affluence influences the development of worldview, measured in terms of ideology, partisanship, and self-identified class consciousness. Class consciousness in turn affects how people look at political and economic issues. This book is intended for scholars and students at every level who study inequality from a political, economic, or sociological position, along with general readers with a growing interest in and awareness of the effects of inequality on our democracy, especially in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the resulting economic contraction, and the protests over racial injustice erupting throughout the world in 2020.
Anthony R. DiMaggio is Associate Professor of Political Science at Lehigh University and the author of a variety of books on mass media and politicsmost recently, Rebellion in America (2020) and Political Power in America (2019). He has remained active over the last few decades in social movements and as an avid social commentator in the field of American politics.
First published 2021
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Dimaggio, Anthony R., 1980- author.
Title: Unequal America : class conflict, the news media, and ideology in
an era of record inequality / Anthony R. DiMaggio.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2021. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Classification: LCC HN90.S6 D55 2021 (print) | LCC HN90.S6 (ebook) |
DDC 305.50973dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020027837
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020027838
ISBN: 978-0-367-52185-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-52112-7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-05685-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To Mark Major, a great colleague and friend.
This book is more than 10 years in the making, and there are many people to thank over this extended period. Most of all, I want to thank my wife, Mary, and my sons, Frankie and Tommy, for their infinite patience during this project. Your support in recent years has really helped me clarify my priorities in life and brought me to appreciate just how lucky I am to have such a loving family.
I also want to thank my extended family, including my parents, siblings, and other relatives, for always embracing my academic dreams. Your support over the years is what helped me make it in higher education. Next I want to thank Lehigh University and faculty and students of the political science department for their consistent support throughout this and my other research projects. Most of all, I thank Holona Ochs and Richard Matthews for their consistent advocacy of my work, for which I am forever grateful.
I want to thank other academic colleagues who fueled my intellectual journey over the last decade: Mark Major, Manfred Steger, Amentahru Wahlrab, Stephen Caliendo, Michael Thompson, Lauren Langman, Paul Street, Noam Chomsky, Chad Kautzer, Henry Giroux, Andy McFarland, Ali Riaz, Carlos Parodi, Jamal Nassar, John Vinzant, Colin Suchland, David Reynolds, Mark Roehrs, and Chris McDonald.
Thanks also goes to the students I had the privilege of working with at Lincoln Land Community College, whose feedback, insights, and support made this work possible. This book is devoted to working-class students at colleges like Lincoln Land across the country who struggle in neoliberal America to achieve excellence and to make ends meet. Your sacrifices are so greatly appreciated. Finally, I want to thank Jennifer Knerr at Routledge for her strong advocacy for my academic work. Your support means the world to me, and your dedication to intellectual and academic excellence is second to none.
