--- title: "6 Working class Quotes By George Packer" description: "6 Working class quotes by George Packer. Plus more from George Packer and more Working class sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/george-packer-2917_abstract_abstract-sympathy-with-the-working-class_958959.jpg" --- > [Abstract sympathy with the working class as an economic entity is easy, but the feeling can vanish on contact with actual members…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/abstract-sympathy-with-the-working-class-as-an-economic-entity-is/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/george-packer-2917_abstract_abstract-sympathy-with-the-working-class_958959.jpg) > [I think in the '50s, the percentage of Americans employed by the private sector who were in unions was above 30 percent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/i-think-in-the-50s-the-percentage-of-americans-employed-by-the/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba9/george-packer-2917_class_i-think-in-the-50s-the-percentage-of-ame_1031300.png) > [It's - the working class of San Francisco and the Bay Area is being pushed out of its old neighborhoods because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/it-s-the-working-class-of-san-francisco-and-the-bay-area-is-being/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c54/george-packer-2917_bay-area_it-s-the-working-class-of-san-francisco_1517206.png) > [The base of the party, the middle-aged white working class, has suffered at least as much as any demographic group because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/the-base-of-the-party-the-middle-aged-white-working-class-has/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/george-packer-2917_free_the-base-of-the-party-the-middle-aged-wh_1576017.png) > [It used to be that the working class, broadly speaking - Americans who worked with their hands, who worked in factories, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/it-used-to-be-that-the-working-class-broadly-speaking-americans-who/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/george-packer-2917_1960s_it-used-to-be-that-the-working-class-bro_1721263.jpg) > [The biggest issue for me is whether large numbers of Americans can begin to think that government can actually help make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/the-biggest-issue-for-me-is-whether-large-numbers-of-americans-can/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/george-packer-2917_achieve_the-biggest-issue-for-me-is-whether-larg_2032805.jpg) ## Other authors on Working class - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b014/author-karl-marx-55237.jpg) Karl Marx 15 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/karl-marx/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b005/author-bernie-sanders-17420.jpg) Bernie Sanders 15 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/bernie-sanders/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b018/author-noam-chomsky-71799.jpg) Noam Chomsky 11 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/noam-chomsky/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b001/author-j-d-vance-3503.jpg) J.D. Vance 9 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/j-d-vance/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b010/author-george-orwell-37887.jpg) George Orwell 8 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/george-orwell/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b001/author-j-d-vance-2-3852.jpg) J. D. Vance 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/j-d-vance-2/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b005/author-bill-ayers-17832.jpg) Bill Ayers 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/bill-ayers/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b024/author-vladimir-lenin-94029.jpg) Vladimir Lenin 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/vladimir-lenin/) - [Richard Ojeda 6 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/richard-ojeda/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b001/author-nina-turner-3107.jpg) Nina Turner 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/nina-turner/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-john-lennon-51796.jpg) John Lennon 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/john-lennon/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b011/author-haruki-murakami-40784.jpg) Haruki Murakami 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/haruki-murakami/) ## More by George Packer > [I don't think they need to be nice to reporters, but the White House seems to imagine that releasing information is like a tap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/i-don-t-think-they-need-to-be-nice-to-reporters-but-the-white-house/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [So many writers grew up in tortured isolation, in revolt against their families. I and my sister were in a house where writing was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/so-many-writers-grew-up-in-tortured-isolation-in-revolt-against-their/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Afghanistan can't police its borders, and its neighbors give sanctuary and assistance to insurgents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/afghanistan-can-t-police-its-borders-and-its-neighbors-give-sanctuary/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Hillary Clinton's such a classic Democratic political figure and believes so much in institutions and in gradualism in the old way of reaching compromises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/hillary-clinton-s-such-a-classic-democratic-political-figure-and/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [“In other words, Foxx represented what Sarah Palin (speaking at a campaign fundraiser in Greensboro three weeks before the election) called “the real America,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/in-other-words-foxx-represented-what-sarah-palin-speaking-at-a/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [America's vast population of working poor can only get so poor before even Walmart is out of reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/america-s-vast-population-of-working-poor-can-only-get-so-poor-before/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [The Olympics are never just about sports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/the-olympics-are-never-just-about-sports/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > ['The Assassins' Gate' is a very tightly controlled story of the ideas that led to the war and the consequences of those ideas in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/the-assassins-gate-is-a-very-tightly-controlled-story-of-the-ideas/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Amazon's identity and goals are never clear and always fluid, which makes the company destabilizing and intimidating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/amazon-s-identity-and-goals-are-never-clear-and-always-fluid-which/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Ideology knows the answer before the question has been asked. Principles are something different: a set of values that have to be adapted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/ideology-knows-the-answer-before-the-question-has-been-asked/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Everything seems set up for success in digital journalism - money, eyeballs, software, brands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/everything-seems-set-up-for-success-in-digital-journalism-money/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Climate change joined immigration, job creation, food safety, pilot training, veterans' care, campaign finance, transportation security, labor law, mine safety, wildfire management, and scores…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/climate-change-joined-immigration-job-creation-food-safety-pilot/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Much of the international unease with the Sochi Games has focused on the threat of terrorism, Putin's domestic repressiveness, and the Russian campaign of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/much-of-the-international-unease-with-the-sochi-games-has-focused-on/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [I've been interested in American politics since I was eight. That was in 1968. It was an interesting year. I was a huge Eugene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/i-ve-been-interested-in-american-politics-since-i-was-eight-that-was/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [When I interviewed Paul Bremer in his office, he had almost no books on his shelves. He had a couple of management books, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/when-i-interviewed-paul-bremer-in-his-office-he-had-almost-no-books/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/george-packer/#itemlist", "name": "6 Working class Quotes By George Packer", "numberOfItems": 6, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Abstract sympathy with the working class as an economic entity is easy, but the feeling can vanish on contact with actual members of the group, who often arrive with disturbing beliefs and powerful resentments - who might not sound or look like people urban progressives want to know.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Packer" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/abstract-sympathy-with-the-working-class-as-an-economic-entity-is/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/george-packer-2917_abstract_abstract-sympathy-with-the-working-class_958959.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/george-packer-2917_abstract_abstract-sympathy-with-the-working-class_958959.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/george-packer-2917_abstract_abstract-sympathy-with-the-working-class_958959.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Abstract sympathy with the working class as an economic entity is easy, but the feeling can vanish on…” — George Packer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think in the '50s, the percentage of Americans employed by the private sector who were in unions was above 30 percent. And now it's in the single digits, so it plummeted. And with the plummeting of unions came the weakening of an organized working-class voice in politics.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Packer" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/i-think-in-the-50s-the-percentage-of-americans-employed-by-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba9/george-packer-2917_class_i-think-in-the-50s-the-percentage-of-ame_1031300.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba9/george-packer-2917_class_i-think-in-the-50s-the-percentage-of-ame_1031300.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba9/george-packer-2917_class_i-think-in-the-50s-the-percentage-of-ame_1031300.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think in the '50s, the percentage of Americans employed by the private sector who were in unions was above…” — George Packer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's - the working class of San Francisco and the Bay Area is being pushed out of its old neighborhoods because of the skyrocketing cost of housing, and there's no real working class left because these are jobs for engineers and managers and designers - very smart people.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Packer" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/it-s-the-working-class-of-san-francisco-and-the-bay-area-is-being/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c54/george-packer-2917_bay-area_it-s-the-working-class-of-san-francisco_1517206.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c54/george-packer-2917_bay-area_it-s-the-working-class-of-san-francisco_1517206.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c54/george-packer-2917_bay-area_it-s-the-working-class-of-san-francisco_1517206.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's - the working class of San Francisco and the Bay Area is being pushed out of its old neighborhoods…” — George Packer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The base of the party, the middle-aged white working class, has suffered at least as much as any demographic group because of globalization, low-wage immigrant labor, and free trade. Trump sensed the rage that flared from this pain and made it the fuel of his campaign.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Packer" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/the-base-of-the-party-the-middle-aged-white-working-class-has/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/george-packer-2917_free_the-base-of-the-party-the-middle-aged-wh_1576017.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/george-packer-2917_free_the-base-of-the-party-the-middle-aged-wh_1576017.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/george-packer-2917_free_the-base-of-the-party-the-middle-aged-wh_1576017.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The base of the party, the middle-aged white working class, has suffered at least as much as any demographic…” — George Packer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It used to be that the working class, broadly speaking - Americans who worked with their hands, who worked in factories, who were not in management - were an interest group, a political interest group. And their main spokespersons were the Democrats. Their platform was the Democratic Party. And that began to change after the 1960s. Not for black or other working class Americans, but for white working class.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Packer" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/it-used-to-be-that-the-working-class-broadly-speaking-americans-who/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/george-packer-2917_1960s_it-used-to-be-that-the-working-class-bro_1721263.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/george-packer-2917_1960s_it-used-to-be-that-the-working-class-bro_1721263.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/george-packer-2917_1960s_it-used-to-be-that-the-working-class-bro_1721263.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It used to be that the working class, broadly speaking - Americans who worked with their hands, who worked…” — George Packer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The biggest issue for me is whether large numbers of Americans can begin to think that government can actually help make the country a fairer place. And that's partly a matter of policies that achieve results in terms of reducing inequality and raising middle-class and working-class incomes, which have been flat for decades. But it's also symbolic and rhetorical, it's whether Hillary Clinton can - or whoever's president - can persuade Americans that it's happening and that they can begin to trust their elected officials a little bit more and their institutions of government a little bit more.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Packer" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/the-biggest-issue-for-me-is-whether-large-numbers-of-americans-can/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/george-packer-2917_achieve_the-biggest-issue-for-me-is-whether-larg_2032805.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/george-packer-2917_achieve_the-biggest-issue-for-me-is-whether-larg_2032805.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/george-packer-2917_achieve_the-biggest-issue-for-me-is-whether-larg_2032805.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The biggest issue for me is whether large numbers of Americans can begin to think that government can…” — George Packer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/george-packer/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/george-packer/", "name": "Working class Quotes by George Packer", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/george-packer/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/george-packer-2917_abstract_abstract-sympathy-with-the-working-class_958959.jpg" }, "description": "6 Working class quotes by George Packer. 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