The Making of the Western Affluent Working Class: Class and Affluence Through Postwar Public Discussions and Academic Interpretations

Abstract In this chapter I provide an analytic overview of the academic and public discussions on postwar Western affluence among blue-collar working class. Using popular sociological interpretations, widespread media narratives, influential political rhetoric as empirical evidence, highlight how impactful narratives class are constructed, deconstructed, or reconstructed during period so-called affluent society (1950s to early 1970s) age deindustrialization (from mid-1970s onwards). Focusing experience, study draws parallels between different nations, from North America France Nordic countries. argue that even though societal cultural realities change drastically throughout West, portrayals interpretations constructed with analogous structural narrative materials.