About “Class War, Then and Now: Essays toward a New Left” by Chris Wright
For nearly fifty years, America’s working class has been under relentless attack.
Wages have stagnated, inequality has soared, and the majority now lives paycheck to paycheck–while trillions of dollars flow upward into the pockets of the wealthiest few.
“Class War, Then and Now” is both a searing indictment of this economic and political order and an impassioned call to arms for a new left rooted in class struggle, solidarity, and socialist values.
Drawing on a decade of essays and articles originally published in outlets such as Dissent, New Politics, CounterPunch, Socialist Forum, and Common Dreams, historian Chris Wright examines the deep roots of capitalism’s crises and the failures of the contemporary left to confront them. In sharp, accessible prose, Wright tackles:
-The centrality of class struggle in building a movement that can unite working people
-Why identity politics, while important, must not overshadow the fight against capitalism
-The overlooked necessity of nuclear power in addressing climate change
-Lessons from labor history, from Jimmy Hoffa to modern union battles
-The catastrophic consequences of American imperialism
-How organized labor remains humanity’s most universal force for justice
With the urgency of a manifesto and the depth of historical scholarship, Wright argues that only a rational, international, and truly Marxist left can stop the United States–and the world–from sliding into neofascism and ecological collapse.
If you care about economic justice, social reform, and the future of democracy, “Class War, Then and Now” will challenge your thinking, sharpen your arguments, and inspire action.
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Author Bio:
Chris Wright is a lecturer at Hunter College, where he teaches courses in U.S. history. He is the author of "Popular Radicalism and the Unemployed in Chicago during the Great Depression" and "Worker Cooperatives and Revolution: History and Possibilities in the United States," among other books. He has published in Dissent, the Washington Post, Truthout, Socialist Forum, and other venues.