White working class

The term 'white working class' has been often criticized, but still remains a common fixture of certain types of political thought. It is most often used to describe economically oppressed white people in the western world, but the usage of the term in common parlance also carries with it a number of unspoken assumptions, and it implicitly poses this group in opposition to both non-white workers and to the white 'middle class'.

Arguably, it redefines the class interests of these workers to the interests of an identity whose interests can only be furthered by conflict with other identities. This depiction is often used to contradict the interests of poor whites with those of poor immigrants or minorities in general, rather than viewing these groups as potentially able to unite in solidarity.

In addition, the white working class is often mythologized as inherently conservative, traditional, and lacking higher education. This definition leads to many white workers who exist in the same economic stratum but different social norms to be excluded and decried as 'middle class' or professional managerial class