From: Rakesh Bhandari (bhandari@BERKELEY.EDU)
Date: Fri Mar 03 2006 - 04:53:55 EST
Very well written and insightful of the sociology of class and the lay normativity in terms of which inequality is understood. Important discussion of the debate about class injuries from mis recognition and mal distribution. Very illuminating discussion of Bourdieu's sociology, and probing discussion of the hidden injuries of class inequality. Not quite convinced that identity specific mechanisms such as gender and race are as contingently related to the economy as Sayer insists however. For those interested in the statistical findings about constraints on class mobility this book will surely prove stimulating reading. rb Product Details: ISBN: 0521616409 Format: Paperback, 256pp Pub. Date: May 2005 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Series: Secondary Course Ser. Moral Significance of Class FROM THE PUBLISHER The Moral Significance of Class analyses the moral aspects of people's experience of class inequalities. Class affects not only our material wealth but our access to things, relationships and practices which we have reason to value, including the esteem or respect of others and hence our sense of self-worth. It shapes the kind of people we become and our chances of living a fulfilling life. Yet contemporary culture is increasingly 'in denial' about class, finding it embarrassing to acknowledge, even though it can often be blatantly obvious. By drawing upon concepts from moral philosophy and social theory and applying them to empirical studies of class, this fascinating and accessible study shows how people are valued in a context in which their life-chances and achievements are objectively affected by the lottery of birth class, and by forces which have little to do with their moral qualities or other merits. Moral Significance of Class TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Introduction 1 2 From the habitus to ethical dispositions 22 3 Recognition and distribution 52 4 Concepts of class : clearing the ground 70 5 Struggles of the social field 95 6 Moral and immoral sentiments and class 139 7 Responses to class I : egalitarianism, respect(ability), class pride and moral boundary drawing 169 8 Responses to class II : explanations, justifications and embarrassment 187 9 Conclusions and implications 213
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