The Wages of Whiteness: Race and the Making of the American Working Class (Haymarket)

by David R . Roediger (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1999

  $11.64

  Combining classical Marxism, psychoanalysis and the new labor history pioneered by E.P. Thompson and Herbert Gutman, David Roediger's widely acclaimed book provides an original study of the formative years of working class racism in the United States. This, he argues, cannot be explained simply with reference to economic advantage; rather, white working class racism is underpinned by a complex series of psychological and ideological mechanisms which reinforce racial stereotypes and thus help to forge the identities of white workers in opposition to blacks. In an afterword to this new edition, Roediger discussed recent studies of whiteness and the changing face of labor itself. He surveys criticism of his work, accepting many objections whilst challenging others, especially the view that the study of working class racism implies a rejection of Marxism and radical politics.