ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book discloses that the roots of perceived individual pathology, unruliness in school, alcohol and drug abuse, violence, and crime, actually lie deep within the social structure. It explores how the Hallway Hangers and Brothers fare in the structure of the job market. The book shows clearly that poverty is not a black issue. In absolute terms, most poor people are white, although a disproportionate number of African Americans are impoverished. Both the Brothers and the Hallway Hangers are victims of class exploitation, but the African Americans among them have had to cope with racial oppression as well. The race (caste) versus class debate has raged with particular passion since the publication in 1978 of William Julius Wilson's The Declining Significance of Race. The Brothers and Hallway Hangers live in a class society committed to the denial of class.
