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The Language of Class in Twentieth-Century America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2016

Margo Anderson
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Extract

In June of 1948, during the peak period of strike activity in the United States in the past fifty years, Philip Murray, President of the CIO, the most successful militant labor organization of the twentieth century, published an article giving his views on labor organization, democracy, and “our American system.” He argued that “if we pull together . . . we shall surmount the present crisis.” He felt confident about his prediction because, he said, “We have no classes in this country; that’s why the Marxist theory of class struggle has gained so few adherents. We’re all workers here. And in the final analysis the interests of farmers, factory hands, business and professional people, and white-collar toilers prove to be the same” (Murray, 1948; quoted in Lipsitz, 1981: 143).

Type
Research Article
Information
Social Science History , Volume 12 , Issue 4 , Winter 1988 , pp. 349 - 375
Copyright
Copyright © Social Science History Association 1988 

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