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Missing Class: Strengthening Social Movement Groups by Seeing Class Cultures
Many activists worry about the same few problems in their low turnout, inactive members, conflicting views on racism, overtalking, and offensive violations of group norms. But in searching for solutions to these predictable and intractable troubles, progressive social movement groups overlook class culture differences. Missing Class looks through a class lens and discovers that members with different class life experiences tend to approach these problems differently. Using this class lens enables readers to envision new solutions, solutions that draw on the strengths of all class cultures to form the basis of stronger cross-class and multiracial movements.
In Missing Class, the first comprehensive empirical study of US activist class cultures, Betsy Leondar-Wright looks at class dynamics in twenty-five groups that span the spectrum of social movement organizations in the United States today, including the labor movement, grassroots community organizing, and groups working on global causes in the anarchist and progressive traditions. Missing Class applies Pierre Bourdieu’s theories of cultural capital and habitus to four class lifelong working-class and poor; lifelong professional middle class; voluntarily downwardly mobile; and upwardly mobile.
Compellingly written for both activists and social scientists, Missing Class describes class differences in paths to activism, attitudes toward leadership, methods of conflict resolution, ways of using language, diversity practices, use of humor, methods of recruiting, and group process preferences. Too often, we miss class. Missing Class makes a persuasive case that seeing class culture differences could enable activists to strengthen their own groups and build more durable cross-class alliances for social justice.
In Missing Class, the first comprehensive empirical study of US activist class cultures, Betsy Leondar-Wright looks at class dynamics in twenty-five groups that span the spectrum of social movement organizations in the United States today, including the labor movement, grassroots community organizing, and groups working on global causes in the anarchist and progressive traditions. Missing Class applies Pierre Bourdieu’s theories of cultural capital and habitus to four class lifelong working-class and poor; lifelong professional middle class; voluntarily downwardly mobile; and upwardly mobile.
Compellingly written for both activists and social scientists, Missing Class describes class differences in paths to activism, attitudes toward leadership, methods of conflict resolution, ways of using language, diversity practices, use of humor, methods of recruiting, and group process preferences. Too often, we miss class. Missing Class makes a persuasive case that seeing class culture differences could enable activists to strengthen their own groups and build more durable cross-class alliances for social justice.
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 12, 2022
Amazing highly recommend if u organizer or in social movements looking to understanding class (and way class backgrounds contribute to various cultures and behaviors in a group.). Book looked at role movement tradition (eg community organizing, advocacy, etc.), race, gender AND class map onto various movement cultures. A lot of learnings especially around working class culture norms (eg using more humor and often teasing, culture of relationship and trust over egalitarian values that anarchist groups prioritize, speak in more concrete terms and more compared to PMC folks who speak in vague and abstract and ideas), professional managerial class norms, voluntarily downwardly mobile norms, etc.
March 14, 2025
I can't remember why or from where I bought this book, but as boring as the title sounded, it also piqued my interest. I was right: The book was very boring, but also full of some really good information.
Leondar-Wright followed around a bunch of different activist groups—from labor unions to neighborhood groups to anarchists—and kept copious notes. The book is full of statistics and dives deep into breaking down every class. It's not for everyone, though everyone could probably gain something from it. Her theory was that groups on the left talk a lot about identity issues like race, gender, sexuality, etc; but rarely—if ever—bring up class. She posits that the reason for this is that we lack a shared vocabulary to discuss this very important piece of intersectionality. I agree. If we all read this book, or one's like it, we would definitely be able to talk more about this important topic. The top one percent have hella class solidarity; why don't the rest of us? If this book is to be believed, class often plays a more important role than anything else.
I'll tell you what I didn't love about the book though. The only anarchist groups she studied were a couple coalitions organizing protests around the 2008 DNC in Denver. My dislike stems from two things. First, I was there. I was part of one of the coalitions, and I don't remember this person every being around, nor do the names of the groups or the incidents she talks about ring any bells. Maybe it's just my stoner memory, but it felt odd reading about that. Also, she seems to really dislike anarchists, and that seems to be based on her study of two random, disorganized groups.
She states things as fact that aren't fact. Like, anarchists are distrustful of new people because they only build trust in street confrontations (sure, that's one way of building trust, but by far not the only way); anarchist meetings never have food (I've been to plenty of anarchist meetings that have food, probably the majority); anarchists don't recruit (just because we don't do it in the same way the NGOs do it, doesn't mean it doesn't happen); anarchists don't like chants (ha!); anarchists laugh less (not ha!); and that we have a lack of leadership in our groups that leads to messy meetings (some meetings are messy, some aren't, but all that I've been to have had a lot of laughter, no matter the subject).
That's all I feel like writing, but as usual I'd love if someone I know read this book and talked about it with me.
Leondar-Wright followed around a bunch of different activist groups—from labor unions to neighborhood groups to anarchists—and kept copious notes. The book is full of statistics and dives deep into breaking down every class. It's not for everyone, though everyone could probably gain something from it. Her theory was that groups on the left talk a lot about identity issues like race, gender, sexuality, etc; but rarely—if ever—bring up class. She posits that the reason for this is that we lack a shared vocabulary to discuss this very important piece of intersectionality. I agree. If we all read this book, or one's like it, we would definitely be able to talk more about this important topic. The top one percent have hella class solidarity; why don't the rest of us? If this book is to be believed, class often plays a more important role than anything else.
I'll tell you what I didn't love about the book though. The only anarchist groups she studied were a couple coalitions organizing protests around the 2008 DNC in Denver. My dislike stems from two things. First, I was there. I was part of one of the coalitions, and I don't remember this person every being around, nor do the names of the groups or the incidents she talks about ring any bells. Maybe it's just my stoner memory, but it felt odd reading about that. Also, she seems to really dislike anarchists, and that seems to be based on her study of two random, disorganized groups.
She states things as fact that aren't fact. Like, anarchists are distrustful of new people because they only build trust in street confrontations (sure, that's one way of building trust, but by far not the only way); anarchist meetings never have food (I've been to plenty of anarchist meetings that have food, probably the majority); anarchists don't recruit (just because we don't do it in the same way the NGOs do it, doesn't mean it doesn't happen); anarchists don't like chants (ha!); anarchists laugh less (not ha!); and that we have a lack of leadership in our groups that leads to messy meetings (some meetings are messy, some aren't, but all that I've been to have had a lot of laughter, no matter the subject).
That's all I feel like writing, but as usual I'd love if someone I know read this book and talked about it with me.
March 30, 2016
Excellent, well-researched and unique contribution to the Social Movements literature. Really informative.
December 1, 2019
Substantial and thought-provoking contribution to conversations about class difference and the importance of class to social movement building.
I have some qualms with the class definitions offered and some methodological questions more broadly, but certainly worth a careful read for anybody concerned with how class shows up in social movements.
I have some qualms with the class definitions offered and some methodological questions more broadly, but certainly worth a careful read for anybody concerned with how class shows up in social movements.
November 17, 2021
Extensively researched and easy to read, Missing Class includes page after page of eye opening, often surprising insights. This book will be extraordinarily helpful in my work.
May 3, 2017
It's written in sociology-speak that takes a little getting used-to, but the insights she offers about how class contributes to every aspect of social justice work are invaluable.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews