近年のポピュリズムの波の中、英国はEUを離脱し、米国は「アメリカ・ファースト」を実現すべくドナルド・トランプを大統領に選出し、急進右派運動は大陸各地の選挙で欧州の中道派を脅かしています。いずれも、政治的に最も強い影響力を持つ白人の労働者階級が、グローバル化と「国際人」たちがもたらす不公平と社会変化に対し異を唱えています。自分たちの政治的、経済的、文化的優位性を信じて疑わなかった人々の間に、新たな集団意識が芽生えているのです。
白人労働者階級とはどういう人のことを指し、彼らは何を信じているのでしょうか。なぜ、よりボーダーレスで相互につながりあった、能力主義の世界と決別することを選んだのでしょうか。彼らの社会的・政治的反発に対処するには、彼らの言い分を理解する必要があります。本書はまず、人口統計、歴史、地理の観点から「白人労働者階級」を説明することを試みます。次に、この集団が自分たちを定義する方法、そしてその他の人たちが彼らを定義する方法に注目します。彼らがなぜ自分たちは阻害されていると感じているのか、彼らの意識下での人種差別や外国人排斥についても検討します。そして白人労働者階級の政治的態度や投票行動にも目を向け、今後を展望します。
    

• Provides an accessible introduction to white working class identity, politics, and electoral behavior
• Addresses the need to understand and respond to the social and political phenomena that the white working class is driving
• Examines the factors that have led to white working class people's marginality and rebellion
• Written by Justin Gest, who has written extensively on immigration policy, minority political behavior, white working class politics, and the politics of demographic change

 
Powered by original field research and survey analysis in the United States and United Kingdom, The White Working Class: What Everyone Needs to Know® provides a comprehensive and accessible exploration of white working-class politics and the populism that is transforming the transatlantic social and political landscape.

In recent years, the world has been reintroduced to the constituency of "white working-class" people. In a wave of revolutionary populism, far right parties have scored victories across the transatlantic political world: Britain voted to leave the European Union, the United States elected President Donald Trump to enact an "America First" agenda, and Radical Right movements are threatening European centrists in elections across the continent. In each case, white working-class people are driving the reaction to the social change brought by globalization. In the midst of this rebellion, a new group consciousness has emerged among the very people who not so long ago could take their political, economic, and cultural primacy for granted. 

In The White Working Class: What Everyone Needs to Know®, Justin Gest provides the context for understanding this large group of people. He begins by explaining what "white working class" means in terms of demographics, history, and geography, as well as the ways in which this group defines itself and has been defined by others. Gest also addresses whether white identity is on the rise, why white people perceive themselves as marginalized, and the roles of racism and xenophobia in white consciousness. Finally, he looks at the political attitudes, voting behavior, and prospects for the future of the white working class. This accessible book provides a nuanced view into the forces driving one of the most complicated and consequential political constituencies today.
In recent years, the world has been re-introduced to the constituency of "white working class" people. In a wave of revolutionary populism, far right parties have scored victories across the transatlantic political world: Britain voted to leave the European Union, the United States elected President Donald Trump to enact an "America First" agenda, and Radical Right movements are threatening European centrists in elections across the Continent. In each case, white working class people are driving a broad reaction to the inequities and social change brought by globalization, and its cosmopolitan champions. In the midst of this rebellion, a new group consciousness has emerged among the very people who not so long ago could take their political, economic, and cultural primacy for granted. 

Who are white working class people? What do they believe? Are white working class people an "interest group"? What has driven them to break so sharply with the world's trajectory toward a more borderless, interconnected meritocracy? How can a group with such enduring power feel marginalized? This perplexing constituency must be understood if the world is to address and respond to the social and political backlash they are driving. The White Working Class: What Everyone Needs to Know® provides the context for understanding the politics of this large, perplexing group of people. The book begins by explaining what "white working class" means in terms of demographics, history, and geography, as well as the ways in which this group defines itself and has been defined by others. It will address whether white identity is on the rise, why white people perceive themselves as marginalized, and the roles of racism and xenophobia in white consciousness. It will also look at whether the white working class has distinct political attitudes, their voting behavior, and their prospects for the future. This accessible book provides a nuanced view into the forces driving one of the most complicated and consequential political constituencies today.