ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at contentious politics from the perspective of social class. It focuses on two aims, one theoretical and one substantive. The chapter offers an explanation of how the expression of political voice helps to form and solidifies social classes in contemporary Europe. It examines how classes differ in likelihood of participation in contentious politics. The chapter draws on the European Social Survey data from 2002 to 2010. It hypothesizes that the highest incidence of protest occurs among the upper-middle class since persons belonging to it have most suitable resources and means to protest. The chapter theorizes that participatory democracy does not destroy social classes, but could in fact help them become political collectivities. In post-communist societies that joined the European Union, farmers generously benefit from financial support via the common agricultural policy.
