Abstract
Summarizes the continuing debate, initiated largely by Clark & Seymour Martin Lipset in "Are Social Classes Dying?" (1991), about the relevance of class in contemporary politics. Changes in the importance of social class as a variable in various subfields of sociology are reviewed, & differences are attributed to differences in the meanings of class in each subfield. The dynamics of class politics are outlined, & ways that these are conceptualized, operationalized, & measured in different subfields are compared. A general framework for the analysis of class politics & assessment of its continued significance in the new political culture (NPC) of the postindustrial world is derived, & the importance of each of its elements explored: (1) voting behavior; (2) leaders' policy preferences; (3) party programs & candidate backgrounds/views; (4) occupation, workforce participation, social class, etc; (5) voter demographic characteristics; & (6) citizens' political attitudes. Propositions by class theorists are empirically tested against the assumptions of the NPC model, & different ways of interpreting historical vs systemic effects are discussed. 3 Tables, 8 Figures, 2 Appendixes, 76 References. K. Hyatt Stewart