Title:
The rise and fall of class in Britain
Author:
Cannadine, David, 1950-
ISBN:
9780231096669
Personal Author:
Publication Information:
New York : Columbia University Press, c1999.
Physical Description:
xv, 293 p. ; 23 cm.
Series:
University seminars/Leonard Hastings Schoff memorial lectures
Series Title:
University seminars/Leonard Hastings Schoff memorial lectures
Contents:
Ch. 1. Beyond Class - Forward to Class? Class as History. Class Dismissed. Class as Social Description. Class Here, Now, and Then -- Ch. 2. The Eighteenth Century: Class Without Class Struggle. English Social Worlds. British Social Worlds. Social Life and Social Perceptions. Creating a Classless Society -- Ch. 3. The Nineteenth Century: A Viable Hierarchical Society. Social Visions and Social Divisions. The "Politics of Class" Propounded. The "Politics of Class" Denied. The Way They Saw Things Then -- Ch. 4. The Twentieth Century: Social Identities and Political Identities. The "Politics of Class" Propounded Again. The "Politics of Class" Denied Again. Class Acts and Class Facts. New Society, Old Society -- Ch. 5. Conclusion: Toward a "Classless Society"? Long-Term Retrospective. The Impact of Thatcher. Major, Blair, and Beyond. How We See Ourselves.
Abstract:
Encompassing social, intellectual, and political history, Cannadine uncovers the meanings of class from Adam Smith to Karl Marx to Margaret Thatcher, showing the key moments in which thinking about class shifted, such as the aftermath of the French Revolution and the rise of the Labour Party in the early twentieth century. He cogently argues that Marxist attempts to view history in terms of class struggle are often as oversimplified as conservative approaches that deny the central place of class in British life. In conclusion, Cannadine considers whether it is possible or desirable to create a "classless society," a pledge made by John Major that has continued to resonate even after the conservative defeat. Until we know what class really means - and has meant - to the British, we cannot seriously address these questions.