Most theories of the new middle class assume a homogeneity of responses to class location. However, the arena of industrial militancy is particularly problematic in this regard. The results of a survey of 256 employed professional workers in Australia reveal a diversity of responses ranging from defensive, self-interested orientations to altruistic, politically motivated and socially conscious orientations. The so called new middle class may therefore be better analysed as a status group within the working class rather than as a coherent class fraction.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Abercrombie, N. and J. Urry, (1983), Capital, Labour and the Middle Classes , London, Allen & Unwin.
2.
Bell, D. (1973), The Coming of Post-Industrial Society , NY, Basic.
3.
Braverman, H., (1974), Labour and Monopoly Capital, NY, Monthly Review.
4.
Broom, L., and F.L. Jones, (1976), Opportunity and Attainment in Australia , Canberra, ANU Press.
5.
Clegg, S., P. Boreham, and G. Dow, (1986), Class, Politics and the Economy, London, RKP.
6.
Ehrenreich, B. and J. Ehrenreich (1979), 'The Professional-Managerial Class', in P. Walker (ed.), Between Labor and Capital, Boston, South End.
7.
Heritage, John, (1980) 'Class situation, white collar unionization and the 'double proletarianization' thesis: a comment', Sociology , 15, pp. 283-294.
8.
Hill, M.O. (1979) 'DECORANA — A FORTRAN program for detrended correspondence analysis and reciprocal averaging.'Cornell University Section of Ecology and Systematics, Ithaca (unpub.).
9.
Johnson, T. (1977), 'The Professions and the Class Structure', in R. Scase (ed.), Industrial Society: Class, Cleavage and Control.Allen & Unwin, London , 93-110.
10.
Konrad, G., and I. Szelenyi, (1979) Intellectuals on the Road to Class Power , NY, Harcourt.
11.
Kruskal, J.B., and M. Wish, (1978), Multidimensional Scaling, Beverly Hills, Sage.
12.
McIver, J.P., and E.G. Carmines, (1981), Unidimensional Scaling, Beverly Hills, Sage.
13.
Mackenzie, G. (1973), The Aristocracy of Labor, CUP.
14.
Mallet, Serge (1975a), The New Working Class, Nottingham, Spokesman.
15.
—( 1975b), Essays on the New Working ClassSt. Louis, Telos.
16.
Mann, M. (1973), Consciousness and Action among the Western Working Class, London, Macmillan.
17.
Parsler, R. (1970), 'Some Economic Aspects of Embourgeoisement in Australia', Sociology, 4, 165-179.
18.
—( 1971), 'Some Social Aspects of Embourgeoisement in Australia' , Sociology, 5,95-112.
19.
Prandy, K., A. Stewart and R.M. Blackburn, (1974), 'Concepts and Measures: The Example of Unionateness' , Sociology, 8, 427-446.
20.
—( 1982) White-Collar Work, London, Macmillan.
21.
Poulantzas, N. (1978), Classes in Contemporary Capitalism , London, Verso.
22.
Roslender, R., (1981) 'Misunderstanding proletarianization: a comment on recent research'Sociology, 15, pp. 428-430.
23.
Stewart, A., K. Prandy and R.M. Blackburn, (1973), 'Measuring the Class Structure', Nature, 245, 415-417.
24.
—( 1980), Social stratification and occupationsMacmillan, London.
25.
Waters, M. (1982), Strikes in Australia, Sydney, Allen & Unwin.
26.
Wright, E.O. (1979), Class, Crisis and the State, London, Verso.
27.
—( 1985), Classes, London, Verso.
28.
—, and B. Martin, (1987) 'The Transformation of the American Class Structure, 1960-1980', American Journal of Sociology , 93, 1, 1-29.
