Class Struggle and the New Deal

In this reassessment of New Deal policymaking, Rhonda Levine argues that the major constraints upon and catalysts for FDR's policies were rooted in class conflict. Countering neo-Marxist and state-centred theories, which focus on administrative and bureaucratic structures, she contends that too little attention has been paid to the effect of class struggle. Levine analyzes the balance of class forces during the Great Depression and the ways in which they shaped the formulation, implementation and consequences of federal policies.