Running Steel, Running America - by Judith Stein (Paperback)

About the Book

Running Steel, Running America: Race, Economic Policy, and the Decline of Liberalism

Book Synopsis

The history of modern liberalism has been hotly debated in
contemporary politics and the academy. Here, Judith Stein uses
the steel industry--long considered fundamental to the U.S.
economy--to examine liberal policies and priorities after World
War II. In a provocative revision of postwar American history,
she argues that it was the primacy of foreign commitments and the
outdated economic policies of the state, more than the nation's
racial conflicts, that transformed American liberalism from the
powerful progressivism of the New Deal to the feeble policies of
the 1990s.
Stein skillfully integrates a number of narratives usually
treated in isolation--labor, civil rights, politics, business,
and foreign policy--while underscoring the state's focus on the
steel industry and its workers. By showing how those who
intervened in the industry treated such economic issues as free
trade and the globalization of steel production in isolation from
the social issues of the day--most notably civil rights and the
implementation of affirmative action--Stein advances a larger
argument about postwar liberalism. Liberal attempts to address
social inequalities without reference to the fundamental and
changing workings of the economy, she says, have led to the
foundering of the New Deal state.

Review Quotes

[A] triumph of heroic research and clear thinking, and essential reading for anyone who cares about this country's festering race problems.

David Brody, author of "In Labor's Cause: Main Themes on the History of the American Worker"

Few serious historians of the postwar United States can afford not to read [this book].

"Law and History Review"

ÝA¨ passionate book.

"Reviews in American History"

ÝA¨ triumph of heroic research and clear thinking, and essential reading for anyone who cares about this country's festering race problems.

David Brody, author of "In Labor's Cause: Main Themes on the History of the American Worker"

An original, well-argued, and thought-provoking account of the American steel industry in the post-World War II world.

"Labor History"

This is a marvelous and important book, an immaculately researched, powerfully written analysis.

"Business History"

"[A] triumph of heroic research and clear thinking, and essential reading for anyone who cares about this country's festering race problems.

David Brody, author of "In Labor's Cause: Main Themes on the History of the American Worker""

"An original, well-argued, and thought-provoking account of the American steel industry in the post-World War II world.

"Labor History""

"This is a marvelous and important book, an immaculately researched, powerfully written analysis.

"Business History""

[A] passionate book.

"Reviews in American History"

About the Author

Judith Stein, professor of history at the Graduate School and City College of the City University of New York, is author of The World of Marcus Garvey: Race and Class in Modern Society.