Bringing Social Class Home: The Social Class Genealogy and Poverty Lunch Projects
In: Teaching sociology: TS, Volume 29, Issue 3, p. 286
ISSN: 1939-862X
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In: Teaching sociology: TS, Volume 29, Issue 3, p. 286
ISSN: 1939-862X
In: Sociological inquiry: the quarterly journal of the International Sociology Honor Society, Volume 67, Issue 3, p. 299-319
ISSN: 1475-682X
Several popular and academic works have reiterated Marx's concern over the issue of social class polarization in capitalist societies. Marx characterized this polarization as the increasing concentration of wealth and poverty in the upper and lower classes, respectively, coupled with a disappearing middle class. Building on these ideas, other work suggests a process of fragmented polarization with an increasing economic, political, social, and psychological diversity within each social class. This paper illustrates this process of class fragmentation, and shows that even though the upper class is gaining overall, there are segments which are beginning to feel the effects of economic restructuring. We address corporate restructuring in the form of mergers and acquisitions and how upper‐ and‐middle managers perceive these processes and outcomes. We conducted 33 interviews with individuals from different organizational levels, involved in four different mergers or acquisitions. We focus on the meaning these individuals attribute to these processes and changes. Although most respondents remained with the new company, all were faced with major changes in their work environment. Respondents often experienced a breach of social contract, a dramatically altered perception of managerial control and decision making, a shift from corporate loyalty to self‐interest, and new forms of power and resistance. We conclude by discussing the implications of such class fragmentation, and suggest directions for future research and policy.
In: Humanity & Society, Volume 11, Issue 4, p. 541-542
ISSN: 2372-9708
In: Perspectives on political science, Volume 26, Issue 3, p. 158
ISSN: 1045-7097