"This book directly challenges a longstanding intellectual tradition of class analysis, recently revitalized by such prominent scholars as Erik Olin Wright and John Goldthorpe. Insisting on a realist conception of class, Kingston argues that members of presumed "classes" do not significantly share distinct, life-defining experiences.".

"Individual chapters assess the extent of class structuration in five dimensions of life: mobility (how demographically cohesive are classes?), interaction patterns (do classes exist as communal groups?), cultural orientation (are there class cultures, as Bourdieu and his followers maintain?), class sentiment (to what extent do objective position and subjective sentiments align?), and political orientations (do classes represent distinct political forces?).

This broad assessment is the basis for Kingston's conclusion that classes do not exist in America in any meaningful way."--BOOK JACKET.