Welcome to the SAGE edge site for The American Class Structure in an Age of Growing Inequality, Eleventh Edition!

The American Class Structure in an Age of Growing Inequality, Eleventh Edition reveals how social class affects our everyday lives, from who we marry and how we raise our kids to where we live and how we vote. Gilbert emphasizes the socioeconomic core of the class system. A major theme running through the book is the growing inequality in American society. Gilbert describes the shift, beginning in the mid-1970s, from an Age of Shared Prosperity to an Age of Growing Inequality. Using fresh data on jobs, wages, income, wealth, and poverty, he measures the widening gap between the privileged classes and average Americans. He repeatedly returns to the question, “Why is this happening?” Economic, political and social factors are examined, and the competing explanations of influential writers are critically assessed. In the final chapter, Gilbert synthesizes the book’s lessons about the power of class and the forces behind growing inequality.

This site features an array of free resources you can access anytime, anywhere.

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge Dennis Gilbert for writing an excellent text. Special thanks are also due to Amy Donley of University of Central Florida for developing the resources on this site.