First Class: The U.S. Postal Service, Democracy, and the Corporate Threat

by Christopher W. Shaw

Investigating the essential role that the postal system plays in American democracy and how the corporate sector has attempted to destroy it.

"With First Class: The U.S. Postal Service, Democracy, and the Corporate Threat, Christopher Shaw makes a brilliant case for polishing the USPS up and letting it shine in the 21st century."–John Nichols, national affairs correspondent for The Nation and author of Coronavirus Criminals and Pandemic Profiteers: Accountability for Those Who Caused the Crisis

The fight over the future of the U.S. Postal Service is on. For years, corporate interests and political ideologues have pushed to remake the USPS, turning it from a public institution into a private business–and now, with mail-in voting playing a key role in local, state, and federal elections, the attacks have escalated. Leadership at the USPS has been handed over to special interests whose plan for the future includes higher postage costs, slower delivery times, and fewer post offices, policies that will inevitably weaken this invaluable public service and source of employment.

Despite the general shift to digital communication, the vast majority of the American people–and small businesses–still rely heavily on the U.S. postal system, and many are rallying to defend it. First Class brings readers to the front lines of the struggle, explaining the various forces at work for and against a strong postal system, and presenting reasonable ideas for strengthening and expanding its capacity, services, and workforce. Emphasizing the essential role the USPS has played ever since Benjamin Franklin served as our first Postmaster General, author Christopher Shaw warns of the consequences for the country–and for our democracy–if we don’t win this fight.

Praise for First Class:

"Piece by piece, an essential national infrastructure is being dismantled without our consent. Shaw makes an eloquent case for why the post office is worth saving and why, for the sake of American democracy, it must be saved."–Steve Hutkins, founder/editor of Save the Post Office and Professor of English at New York University

"The USPS is essential for a democratic American society; thank goodness we have this new book from Christopher W. Shaw explaining why."–Danny Caine, author of Save the USPS and owner of the Raven Book Store, Lawrence, KS

"Shaw’s excellent analysis of the Postal Service and its vital role in American Democracy couldn’t be more timely. … First Class should serve as a clarion call for Americans to halt the dismantling and to, instead, preserve and enhance the institution that can bind the nation together."–Ruth Y. Goldway, Retired Chair and Commissioner, U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission, responsible for the Forever Stamps

"In a time of community fracture and corporate predation, Shaw argues, a first-class post office of the future can bring communities together and offer exploitation-free banking and other services."–Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

240 pages, Paperback

Published November 9, 2021

Reviews

[Kevin Kosar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shaw writes well, and his prose is very accessible.

Shaw deserves kudos for calling out USPS management for its long-standing habit of claiming a post office or mail facility closure will save dollars when the cuts seldom save much money.

And Shaw is right that the USPS's leadership for many decades has had a high-handed attitude towards communities. When the USPS wants to make a change to service hours, it goes through the motions of consulting the community (sometimes), but then it just goes ahead and does what it pleases.

Readers may also enjoy the book's coverage of some of the interesting 19th and early 20th century history of the Post Office Department. Every chapter will have at least one fact that will make you think, "Huh! Interesting!"

A few critiques:

1. Alot of the material in this book is from a couple decades ago, which gives it a dated feel---with some critiques of current Postmaster General Louis DeJoy tacked on. A funny thing about DeJoy--his plan for saving the USPS is to have it take more marketshare of the parcel business away from the private sector delivery companies. One might think that Dr. Shaw and Mr. Ralph Nader (the latter wrote the book's intro) would cheer DeJoy for that. Not so much.

2. The book is pretty nostalgic about the Postal Service. Dr. Shaw doesn't much mention the unsavory aspects of its history, like the Post Office's censorship of dissent during World War I other ugly episodes.

3. Throughout the book he asserts again and again that the post office is the hub of the community and that it fosters democracy. Maybe that is true in particular communities, but it certainly is not true everywhere. Not in the 21st century. Lots of folks, especially the digital natives, roll their eyes at the USPS, viewing it as a dinosaur that brings mostly junk mail. They do not hang out at the Post Office to exchange their views on the issues of the day. I'd like to see some anthropolgists go out and visit 100 post offices around the country adn return with their observations as to whether people are learning democracy at them.

4. Shaw's solution to the question, "What's the future of the Postal Service?" is unconvincing. He basically wants to turn back the clock and have the USPS do more postal activities than it currently does. Apparently he does not believe that mail volume, which is down 40 percent over the past 15 years, is going to keep atrophying. He wants the Postal Service to earn more revenue to support itself by competing with the private sector in a range of nonpostal businesses. He even suggests it could create a search engine for the public---as if the USPS could out do Google, Mozilla, Bing or any of the other search engines out there!

This is a provocative book, and it certainly shows Dr. Shaw's passion for the Post Office and his belief in the Ralph Nader/Bernie Sanders social democratic philosophy of governance. If your politics are far left, you probably will really dig this book. If you are not, you'll likely find its history and perspective very slanted.

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/4 stars

[Mark Fallon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent recap of the issues facing the US Postal, and their origins. Many, though not all, threats to the USPS are from the same folks who are against most government programs - and against unions. Privatization has been a threat to the USPS from the beginning. And, maintaining the balance between cost-effectiveness and public service isn't a strength of private companies.

There are no solid answers in this book about what postal reform should look like. A few good ideas about expanding services, but no vision. However, there is enough here to start the conversation. Even if no one is listening.

[David Dayen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate the pitch for the importance of the postal service but find many of the arguments, including that the postal service is a premier community meeting place (!), implausible.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book; a useful history of the public service the Postal Service is intended to provide, a review of the obstructions and threats to this service by corporate interests, and recommendations for renewal and revival of the universal postal service intended from beginning of our nation.

[Diane]

This is a very wordy but informative reading, almost like a thesis about the US Post Office and how political it can get regarding this