David Stebenne

In Promised Land, David Stebenne examines the extraordinary revival of the middle class in mid-twentieth century America and how it drastically changed the country. Beginning with the New Deal and WWII, the American middle class expanded so that by the 1960s, it was a powerful political constituency. But the disruptive events of 1968 ended this headlong expansion and, along with shifts in policy and economic stagnation, started shrinking the middle class and challenging its values, trends that continue to the present day. Now, as the so-called “end of the middle class” dominates the news cycle this history of a social revolution that produced a new and influential way of life reveals the story of how it was achieved and the costs incurred along the way. In the form of a revealing history, Promised Land shines more than a little light on our possible future.