ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents a general framework interpreting core components of post-industrial politics. It focuses on the United States, but explores specifics of three types of middle class politics: among managers, the self-employed, and professionals. The book also presents apparently discrepant findings. It reports that from the early 1970s through the late 1980s, private materialism increased greatly among United States youth. The book provides a comprehensive examination of the politics of middle class professionals across five industrialized societies. It shows both ideological change and more subtle changes that left-right ideological distinctions cannot capture. The book explores some central issues raised by post-1960s new social movements: political activism and feminism. It analyzes surveys from citizens in fourteen countries. It makes some important general points using original materials from Japan.
