Is the consciousness of Americans in the midst of dramatic
transformation? Or do people think and feel much the same as they
have always thought and felt? Do most people enjoy their work, or
hate it? Is the American family being replaced by new institutional
forms, or is it much the same as it was in the 1950's? Have
material values been replaced by a "postmaterial consciousness" in
a postindustrial society? Are Americans becoming more conservative,
less conservative, or staying about the same? "State of the Masses"
asks the important questions.
Originally published in 1986, this prescient study evaluate the
views of social critics, neo-conservatives, neo-Marxists,
post-industrialists, and the theorists of the little man, who
puport to describe the nature, social conditions, outlooks, and
motivations of the American populace. The claims of one group are
often diametrically opposed to those of another. The authors make
the case for which claims can be considered true and which false.
Hamilton and Wright analyze the contradictory claims and compares
their implications with the best social science research and data
available at that time. They also explore the implications for
theories in light of the conflicting portrait the evidence
provides. The authors conclude with a new perspective for
understanding continuities and changes in the United States. This
is a prescient view of American society during turmoil, and a model
for how social science research can be used predictively.
"The manuscript is wonderfully devastating."--G. William
Domhoff, "University of California, Santa Cruz" "I think this is a
masterful and timely piece of work a the book's message is so
powerful, so wide sweeping that it cannot be ignored."--William
Form, "The Ohio State University"
"Richard F. Hamilton" is emeritus professor of sociology and
political science at The Ohio State University. He has written
eleven books and seventy articles, mostly dealing with elite and
mass politics and their interconnections, including "President
McKinley, War and Empire" (two volume work) published by
Transaction.
"James D. Wright" is a professor in the department of sociology
at the University of Central Florida. He has published seventeen
books including "Armed and Considered Dangerous" and "Under the
Gun" as well as many journal articles. His current research
interests include violence, urban poverty and inequality, health
and the homeless population, and the "divorce reform" movement.
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