Good Left Wing Books on Middle Class Decline?

[DC Al Fine]

I've been reading a lot of conservative stuff on the decline of the middle class (e.g. Ross Douthat). I tried to suplement this diet by adding a left leaning book recommended by a friend; The Betrayal of the American Dream. Frankly, I wasn't impressed. It's not that the authors' did a poor job addressing their side's weaknesses; rather, they ignored their weak points and pretended they didn't exist.

e.g.

1) They wailed about offshoring and TEH KOCH BROS!!! without discussing automation's effect on the lower middle class.

2) They apparently think well funded pension plans come from fairy dust

Can anyone suggest a decent left wing book about middle class decline that actually tries to address it's weak points?

[H. Ross Peron]

Michael Lind's works especially Next American Nation and Up From Conservatism are pretty good in this regards-you should like it in particular since it addresses too promiscuous immigration as one of the potential causes for middle-class decline.

Dr. Krugman's Conscience of a Liberal is probably the most basic centre-left statement on this issue and since he's free-trader I don't think he would complain about offshoring as a cause of middle-class stagnation/decline.

[TNF]

Pivotal Decade by Judith Stein is really good.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

What do you mean by "left-wing"? American liberalism is nearly as intellectually vapid as American conservatism.

[DC Al Fine]

What do you mean by "left-wing"? American liberalism is nearly as intellectually vapid as American conservatism.

To the left of my Red Tory economics

Seriously though, I'm looking for left-liberal or social democratic stuff, although I wouldn't say no to a good Marxist book either.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Michael Lind's works especially Next American Nation and Up From Conservatism are pretty good in this regards-you should like it in particular since it addresses too promiscuous immigration as one of the potential causes for middle-class decline.

Dr. Krugman's Conscience of a Liberal is probably the most basic centre-left statement on this issue and since he's free-trader I don't think he would complain about offshoring as a cause of middle-class stagnation/decline.

To be fair though, The Conscience of a Liberal addresses the issue from a political angle more than it does from an economic one. I'm not saying that as a criticism (in fact, it's one of my favorite if not my favorite essay), but that might not be what DC is looking for.

[Adam Griffin]

I'm not sure if this qualifies as what you'd be looking for, but I found Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt to be interesting. It highlights a combination of what it deems as "sacrifice zones" (areas where the economies have been completely decimated in an attempt to continue providing a select standard of living for the rest of us, but more so for corporations) and the concept of corporate subversion of the institutions of power. It's also very well-illustrated by Joe Sacco, who takes a lot of the personal accounts from these sacrifice zones and provides additional life to them.

Rather than it being an assessment of the declining middle class as a whole, it is more an analysis of the areas that were the "first to go" (and under such a continued economic system, what lies in store for the rest of us). Laura Flanders did an interview with the author about the book; you could watch it to see if it'd be something you'd find relevant in this case.

[DC Al Fine]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've reserved a couple of titles from my local library and will try the used bookshop near work for the rest.

[Linus Van Pelt]

It's only indirectly about "middle class decline", but if you're interested in the evolution of the different classes' share of income and wealth, Piketty's Capital in the Twentieth Century is definitely worth reading, if you don't mind a pretty dry and long read.

[DC Al Fine]

It's only indirectly about "middle class decline", but if you're interested in the evolution of the different classes' share of income and wealth, Piketty's Capital in the Twentieth Century is definitely worth reading, if you don't mind a pretty dry and long read.

Already read it. Thanks for the suggestion though.

[Cubby]

The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America

by George Packer

2013 National Book Award Winner

Also a New York Times Bestseller, but what book isn't these days?