White working-class politics and the consequences of declining unionization in the age of Trump

Abstract

This essay discusses the various conceptualizations and political behavior of the white working class. Using Katherine J. Cramer's The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker and Justin Gest's The New Minority: White Working Class Politics in an Age of Immigration and Inequality, I critically engage literature on political behavior and class politics in light of declining class-based organizations. Overall, while pundits have pointed to a white working class with clear political preferences, definitions in empirical literature are often wide ranging, suggesting differences in expected behavior.