The Geography of the Class Culture Wars Lisa R. Pruitt† I. CULTURE WARS ACROSS THE RURAL–URBAN AXIS 770 II. CLASS COMPLICATIONS IN RURAL AMERICA: THE WELL OFF, THE WORKERS, AND THE WHITE TRASH 791 III. POLITICS, POLICY, AND WORK-FAMILY STRUGGLES IN RURAL AMERICA 804 IV. MAKING AMENDS: WORK AS A BRIDGE TO SOMEWHERE 809 As suggested by the title of her new book, Reshaping the Work- Family Debate: Why Men and Class Matter, Joan Williams takes class seriously. Class matters, Williams argues, because “socially conscious progressives”1 need political allies to achieve progress with their agenda for work-family reform.2 Williams calls us not only to think about class and recognize it as a significant axis of stratification and (dis)advantage, but also to treat the working class with respect and dignity. Emblematic of Williams’s argument is her challenge to us to “[d]iscard[] Marxian analyses from 30,000 feet” and “come down to learn enough about work- ing-class life to end decades of casual insults.”3 In other words, be nice † Professor of Law, U.C. Davis School of Law,
[email protected]. Thanks to Monica J. Bau- mann, Rebecca Lovell, Patricija Petrac, Rachel R. Ray, Maytak Chin, James R. Beck, and Monica Crooms for excellent research and editorial assistance, and to students in my Law and Rural Livelih- oods class for engagement with these ideas. Jennifer Sherman, Angela P. Harris, Will Rhee, Ezra Rosser, Ruth Ann Bertsch, and Robert T. Laurence provided very helpful comments on an earlier draft, and the faculties at the Salmon P.