The Wages of Whiteness

Race and the Making of the American Working Class (Haymarket Series)

By: David R. Roediger, Kathleen Cleaver

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor, Bahni Turpin

Combining classical Marxism, psychoanalysis, and the new labor history pioneered by E. P. Thompson and Herbert Gutman, David Roediger's widely acclaimed book provides an original study of the formative years of working-class racism in the United States. This, he argues, cannot be explained simply with reference to economic advantage; rather, white working-class racism is underpinned by a complex series of psychological and ideological mechanisms that reinforce racial stereotypes, and thus help to forge the identities of white workers in opposition to Blacks.

In a new preface, Roediger reflects on the reception, influence, and critical response to The Wages of Whiteness, while Kathleen Cleaver's insightful introduction hails the importance of a work that has become a classic.

©2007 David R. Roediger (P)2017 Post Hypnotic Press Inc.

19th Century U.S. Race Relations

This seminal labor history is as pertinent as ever. Useful for understanding African American history, as well as that of U.S. immigration (particularly Irish, German, Chinese), major U.S. cities and regions, as well as of the Democrat and Republican political parties.

every white person needs to read this book

just read it. then maybe read it again. and then get your family and friends to read it.

Worthy of its seminal status

The book is often cited in legal scholarship on race and it is clear why. It brings out the way in which the presence of blacks shaped the creation of whiteness as an idea and white identity. Great narrator as well!

A Great Book

This book really made me think about inequality today, and in particular, how I can't believe Jeff Bezos made so much money while Amazon workers contracted COVID-19 due to unsafe workplace policies with minimal hazard pay and were fired (and in some cases smeared and ruined) for organizing for dignified working conditions.