ABSTRACT
This chapter explains why the class theory of politics itself cannot satisfactorily account for these rightist tendencies among the working class and then proceed to outline a more promising alternative explanation. A specter is haunting the long-standing class theory of politics— the specter of the rightist working class. As a vital element of the class theory of politics, in short, the thesis of embourgeoisement makes predictions about the circumstances under which class divisions are more or less socially and politically salient. The class theory of politics also faces difficulties in explaining the extremely limited working-class support for the welfare state. Ronald Inglehart's work on the political ramifications of a cultural shift towards postmaterialist values cannot carry the weight of the claim that the emergence of a new political culture has caused a decline of class politics. The chapter also presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book.
