D. W. Livingstone is professor emeritus at the University of Toronto. His most recent book is Tipping Point for Advanced Capitalism: Class, Class Consciousness and Activism in the “Knowledge Economy.”
Donald Trump’s tariffs have done what decades of US economic dominance did not: make Canadians question their economic subordination. Conversations about economic self-determination are emerging — and no one is saying “sorry” this time.
Political preferences are often discussed through a one-size-fits-all middle-class lens. But empirical data shows that class significantly influences voting patterns, with growing class consciousness driving dissatisfaction with established parties.
The “professional managerial class” is a staple of recent cultural commentary, but there’s no empirical evidence for its existence. The PMC catch-all clouds our understanding of the middle classes and the capital-labor divide.
Without solid data, discussions about class and class consciousness are often just guesswork. Empirical Marxist studies of class structure and class consciousness are invaluable for a robust socialist politics, and we need more of it.