PEOPLE LIKE US: Social Class in America

It's hard to find many mentions of social class in daily newspapers, magazines, and the rest of the popular press... you usually have to read between the lines. Much of the public discussion about class has been relegated to academia and political and labor organizations that have a strong interest in the subject.

We've selected a few articles we find interesting in which class is the main topic.

In "Pride, prejudice and the not-so-subtle politics of the working class," Katherine Boo talks about how uniforms send an explicit class message. At what point in your working life do you get to wear a tie?
In "The Dark Side of Camp," Gareth Cook claims that camp humor often contains a pointed class message that reflects the cultural preferences of the über-hip.
In "The Rise of the Educated Class," David Brooks suggests that the old WASP Establishment committed class suicide 40 years ago in order to allow a new meritocratic class to flourish.
In "Our Climb to the Sublime: The $5,000 BBQ grill and other milestones," Robert Frank explores the dark side of the luxury spending boom
In "Where to Go When You're Broke," Brendan I. Koerner examines a pawnshop and the folks who do there "banking" there.
In "A Touchy Subject," Paul Fussell explores the difficulty that Americans have talking about class.
In "Working Poor," Barbara Ehrenreich writes about leaving her comfortable middle-class lifestyle behind to work as a house cleaner for wealthy residents of Maine.

Have you seen a provocative article about class? Call it to our attention.