Polarized Society: Class Divisions in the New Culture Wars (Routledge Studies in Social and Political Thought)

Polarized Society examines the profound divisions characterizing contemporary Western societies, where modern mass-affluent middle-class societies have transformed into postmodern class societies fractured along multiple lines of tradition, identity and participation in wealth and power. This comprehensive study analyzes six critical dividing lines: cosmopolitanism versus communitarianism, political left versus political right, education winners versus education losers, established versus outsider identities, cultural versus economic capital, and ruling versus ruled classes.The book uniquely synthesizes diverse literatures on populism, democracy, and social change within a coherent theoretical framework based on social theory and historical sociology.Drawing on Alexis de Tocqueville's classical analysis of American democracy, it provides an in-depth examination of Trumpism as a manifestation of deeper societal transformations.The study concludes with discussing practical strategies for