Class Matters

“Asians aren’t ‘diverse’ enough, poor whites’ ‘underrepresentation’ is irrelevant, admitting black corporate executives’ children is ‘levelling the playing field.’ In university admissions, the buzzwords are as frayed as their rationales. Class Matters shows where we have gone wrong so far, and how we will get to justice, equality, and even diversity for real.”

“How the promise of the civil rights revolution was betrayed for half a century by a system of cosmetic racial preferences that mask growing economic inequality is a tragic and fascinating story. No one is better qualified to tell it than Richard Kahlenberg, who has devoted his career as a thinker and activist to the dream of a color-blind, egalitarian America.”

“Exceptionally strategic in a Supreme Court case that ended racial affirmative action in college and university admissions, Kahlenberg joined a pantheon of legends—Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Bayard Rustin—and found common ground with conservatives to create social and economic class admissions.”

“For several decades, Kahlenberg has been one of America’s most widely respected, original, and consequential thinkers on education, housing, workers’ rights, and affirmative action. Class Matters is his semi-autobiographical magnum opus. This engagingly written book is the definitive insider’s account of how elite colleges’ race-based affirmative action policies camouflaged extreme rates of rich-kid admissions, clashed with public opinion, and crashed in the Supreme Court. Even better, Kahlenberg offers an authoritative, evidence-based roadmap for turning top universities into genuinely diverse communities in which low-income and working-class students of every demographic description are truly well-represented and respected. This magnificent book is not only a must-read; it’s the text of the debate on the past, present, and future of affirmative action in America.”

“Kahlenberg has been manning the lonely ramparts of class-based affirmative action for decades. The world has finally caught up with him now that race-based affirmative action has been struck down by the Supreme Court. In his indispensable new book, Kahlenberg lucidly surveys the history of the race-based approach and explains how class-based affirmative action can and must take its place. Liberals and conservatives alike should read this book as a guide to what might come next.”

“For decades, Kahlenberg has been the country’s leading proponent of ‘class not race’ in debates over college admissions. The latest iteration of his argument, Class Matters, is characteristically forthright, accessible, and informative. Anyone deeply interested in ongoing struggles over the selection of candidates for seats in the nation’s most selective colleges and universities must come to grips with Kahlenberg.”

“Class Matters is a must-read for anyone who believes diversity should be more than skin deep. With the Supreme Court’s decision ending race-based admissions programs, Kahlenberg suggests that social and economic class can be barriers to equal opportunity—regardless of race. His book details ways universities can alleviate the barriers to success they cause.”

“Kahlenberg has eloquently argued for decades for socioeconomic preferences in college admissions to ensure equity, diversity, a more interesting education for all enrolled, and more informed and inclusive leaders for the country and beyond. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled against race-based preferences, we really must attend to Kahlenberg’s thesis, so powerfully and persuasively argued here. This is essential reading for all who care about our future society and the future of justice.”