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Class Judgement

by Jason Rowe

Class Matters: Cross-Class Alliance
Building for Middle-Class Activists
By Betsy Leondar-Wright
2005, New Society Publishers; 192 pages; $18.95, paperback

Though ever-present, class as an economic reality has long been forgotten in the United States. The guilt for its disappearance is shared not just by mainstream institutions like the Democratic Party, but also by many sectors of the left. Thus prompted, Betsy Leondar-Wright wrote Class Matters: Cross-Class Alliance Building for Middle-Class Activists, to regenerate an examination of class and the hurdles it creates for many activists.

A longtime activist herself, Leondar-Wright recalls seeing class divisions contribute to major defeats in movements with which she was involved. Her book presents numerous firsthand accounts from activists from a cross-section of classes and causes, and from these accounts she tries to formulate some suggestions for middle-class activists to effectively bridge the class divide.

One place where inter-class bridges can be formed is in the way an issue is framed. For example, Leondar-Wright observes how the phrasing “environmental justice” allowed the typically middle-class environmentalist movement to recognize how class factors determine who experiences the heaviest consequences of pollution and toxicity, thereby expanding its organizing support to include many working-class and poor communities. Similarly, those of us in the peace movement have recognized how military recruitment exploits class inequalities with promises of opportunities like higher education or job training.

On a more concrete level, the book notes how the politics of organizing logistics— often taken for granted or glossed over—can inhibit people in lower-class locations from fully participating and contributing in coalitions. These include whether scheduled meetings conflict with work or commute time, if meeting locations are accessible by public transit, if childcare is available, and if email is the primary medium of communication for the group.

Proper meeting structure is identified as another crucial component of forming cross-class coalitions. A meeting that is too informal can discourage those who haven’t been socialized into speaking up from actively contributing, while allowing those who have to dominate. Moreover, an unstructured meeting can easily turn unproductive and frustrating to those with little free time to invest. As working-class community organizer Linda Stout recounts in the book, “I have no patience for discussing the agenda for an hour … it’s important to working-class people not to waste time, but to get work done.”

Leondar-Wright also raises the critical question of sharing funding and resources, of which middle-class activists usually have more at their disposal than their working-class counterparts. This can create disequilibrium in power within an inter-class coalition unless there is explicit discussion about a balanced decision-making arrangement.

According to the book, another factor discouraging inter-class collaboration is the fact that many working-class people often see many middle-class activist subcultures as exclusionary and too concerned with fashion, diet, and lingo.

However, the empowerment of working-class activists does not mean that middle-class activists should passively follow them at every level in coalition work. Middle-class activists also have something to contribute to these campaigns. As Leondar-Wright writes, “It’s not easy to contribute our skills and ideas without dominating. It’s not easy to find a balance between over-emphasizing middle-class worldviews and over-relying on other people’s thinking just because they are working-class. We find the balance when we listen more to working-class people and to our own best judgment as well.”

While the book, to its disadvantage, is not systematic in presenting its suggestions on how activists should confront the realities of class, it takes an important step in reintroducing discussion among activists in which class is once again central. As the left continues to embark on this discussion, Leondar-Wright is wise in suggesting middle-class activists listen, exercise best judgement, and have a little humility as well.

Jason Rowe is a Catholic Worker at Casa Juan Diego in Houston, TX.