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Markets, prices and justice

Claude Fischer, professor of sociology | April 17, 2013

In February, 1917, thousands of women stormed the streets in the poorer parts of Brooklyn, New York, overturning pushcarts and setting them on fire. It took police hours to restore order. [1] The women were protesting rapid increases in the prices of food staples and decried the injustice of hungry children. Congress was soon in … Continue reading »

The verdict on class and voting

Michael Hout, professor emeritus of sociology and demography | November 13, 2012

Class issues stood out more in the 2012 presidential election than in previous ones, even more than in 2008. The campaigns invoked, as always, issues of all sorts, but seldom in American politics are the issues of class so prominent as they were this year. Governor Romney’s personal wealth and how he accumulated it were … Continue reading »

Buying a head start

Claude Fischer, professor of sociology | April 13, 2011

The widening gaps between Americans of average wealth and well-off Americans, and especially, super-well-off Americans over the last 40 years have now been fully documented and heavily discussed. But it’s not just about money. We are seeing, as well, growing economic, social, geographical, and cultural divisions between Americans of less and more education. (See, e.g., … Continue reading »

A fragmenting America? – Pt. 2

Claude Fischer, professor of sociology | July 19, 2010

In the Part 1 of this post, I asked whether Americans were increasingly dividing along the “culture wars” battlefront – an impression one would certainly get from media coverage of politics over the last decade or two. The research shows that, while the political class has become more polarized in the last generation, average Americans … Continue reading »