Citizenship, class and the global city

• Published in: Citizenship studies Vol. 3; no. 2; pp. 267 - 283
• Main Author: Isin, Engin F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 01.07.1999
• Subjects: Bourdieu, Pierre; Cities; Citizenship; Class Consciousness; Class Formation; Cultural Capital; Global Cities; Globalization; Professions; Social Class
• ISSN: 1362-1025; 1469-3593
• DOI: 10.1080/13621029908420714

Although contemporary literature on the global city has discussed space, consumption, & exchange in relation to citizenship, it has overlooked the significance of class conflict & the connection between certain professions & class. Current scholarship is charged with reducing the capital-labor conflict to one between an elite & an underclass, & with failing to account for the emergence of new class relations. Here, several trends in global city literature that illustrate the reductionist nature of such scholarship are identified, eg, the association of the professional-managerial class with the elite. Informed by Pierre Bourdieu's (eg, 1986) studies of different forms of capital, it is asserted that the notion of cultural capital plays an important role in understanding how new classes emerged in the advanced capitalist system. Several issues for citizenship created by the emergence of additional professions in the global city are raised; eg, professionals' rights are located within their professions, not their citizenship. 66 References. J. W. Parker