Overview

Following a remarkable epoch of greater dispersion of wealth and opportunity, we are inexorably returning towards a more feudal era marked by greater concentration of wealth and property, reduced upward mobility, demographic stagnation, and increased dogmatism. If the last seventy years saw a massive expansion of the middle class, not only in America but in much of the developed world, today that class is declining and a new, more hierarchical society is emerging. The new class structure resembles that of Medieval times. At the apex of the new order are two classes--a reborn clerical elite, the clerisy, which dominates the upper part of the professional ranks, universities, media and culture, and a new aristocracy led by tech oligarchs with unprecedented wealth and growing control of information. These two classes correspond to the old French First and Second Estates. Below these two classes lies what was once called the Third Estate. This includes the yeomanry, which is made up largely of small businesspeople, minor property owners, skilled workers and private-sector oriented professionals. Ascendant for much of modern history, this class is in decline while those below them, the new Serfs, grow in numbers--a vast, expanding property-less population. The trends are mounting, but we can still reverse them--if people understand what is actually occurring and have the capability to oppose them.

Full Product Details

9781799930976

Table of Contents

Reviews

A gripping cautionary tale by one of the most provocative and original thinkers of our time, this book is a must-read for all those concerned about the future of our cities and our society. -- Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class Kotkin has written an essential and critical study of emerging class structures at the intersection of technological determinism and postindustrial capitalism. -- John Russo, visiting scholar, Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and Working Poor at Georgetown University

"""A gripping cautionary tale by one of the most provocative and original thinkers of our time, this book is a must-read for all those concerned about the future of our cities and our society."" -- ""Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class"" ""Kotkin has written an essential and critical study of emerging class structures at the intersection of technological determinism and postindustrial capitalism."" -- ""John Russo, visiting scholar, Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and Working Poor at Georgetown University"""

Author Information

Joel Kotkin is the Roger Hobbs Distinguished Fellow in Urban Studies at Chapman University in Orange, California, and the Executive Editor of the widely read website NewGeography.com. He is the author of several books and is an internationally recognized authority on global economic, political, social, and technological trends. His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Examiner, City Journal, Politico, the New York Daily News, and Newsweek. Traber Burns worked for thirty-five years in regional theater, including the New York, Oregon, and Alabama Shakespeare festivals. He also spent five years in Los Angeles appearing in many television productions and commercials, including Lost, Close to Home, Without a Trace, Boston Legal, Grey's Anatomy, Cold Case, Gilmore Girls, and others.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available