Final answer:
Richard Hoggart's main argument in 'The Uses of Literacy' is that the rise of mass media in the 1950s is eroding working-class culture, replacing rich community traditions with a more homogeneous and commercialized culture, and impacting literacy and social relations.
Step-by-step explanation:
The main argument presented by Richard Hoggart in his book The Uses of Literacy focuses on the effects of mass media and popular culture on the working-class culture and traditional values in post-war Britain. Hoggart posits that the burgeoning mass culture of the 1950s was eroding the richness and authenticity of the working-class communities, replacing them with a more homogenized, commercialized, and less enriching cultural landscape.
He argues that traditional forms of community and family life, which were sustained by a more organic form of literacy rooted in local customs and communal activities, were being supplanted by the passive consumption of mass-produced media. This change, according to Hoggart, has implications for the way people think, feel, and relate to each other and their environment.
The book also touches upon the importance of fostering a holistic understanding of literature and literacy that not only involves textual analysis but extends to understanding cultural history and the social impact of literature. Hoggart's work urges readers to consider how literature can enhance social understanding and become a means of 'learning for life,' rather than just an instrument to achieve academic or economic success.