“Stayin’ Alive” in the 1970s

Jan. 15, 2013 — Jefferson Cowie, professor of labor history at Cornell University, is the author of the award winning book, “Stayin’ Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class” (2010). Cowie sees the 1970s as the period during which the longstanding New Deal order ultimately crumbled. The shift among many members of the working class towards a more conservative point of view, Cowie says, was facilitated by the fact that progressive forces failed to adapt to new challenges.

Note: This interview was originally recorded in Oct. 2010 as part of the History for the Future project. Then based at radio station WRCT in Pittsburgh, History for the Future is now a production of Remapping Debate.