Bridging the Divide

<p><b>In </b><b><i>Bridging the Divide</i></b><b> Jack Metzgar attempts to determine the differences between working-class and middle-class cultures in the United States. </b>Drawing on a wide range of multidisciplinary sources Metzgar writes as a now middle-class professional with a working-class upbringing explaining the various ways the two cultures conflict and complement each other illustrated by his own lived experiences.</p><p>Set in a historical framework that reflects on how both class cultures developed adapted and survived through decades of historical circumstances Metzgar challenges professional middle-class views of both the working-class and themselves. In the end he argues for the creation of a cross-class coalition of what he calls standard-issue professionals with both hard-living and settled-living working people and outlines some policies that could help promote such a unification if the two groups had a better understanding of their differences and how to use those differences to their advantage. </p><p><i>Bridging the Divide</i> mixes personal stories and theoretical concepts to give us a compelling look inside the current complex position of the working-class in American culture and a view of what it could be in the future.</p>