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Sep 3, 2023 · A social class is a grouping of people into a social category. How a given individual’s social class is determined remains a matter of debate. Similarly, the list above might not be exhaustive, and what a given thinker means by social class categories might differ based on the context. References. Jones, R. J. B. (2001).
- Overview
- History and usage of the term
- Early theories of class
- Karl Marx’s social theory of class
- Contemporary theories of class
- Characteristics of the principal classes
social class, a group of people within a society who possess the same socioeconomic status. Besides being important in social theory, the concept of class as a collection of individuals sharing similar economic circumstances has been widely used in censuses and in studies of social mobility.
The term class first came into wide use in the early 19th century, replacing such terms as rank and order as descriptions of the major hierarchical groupings in society. This usage reflected changes in the structure of western European societies after the industrial and political revolutions of the late 18th century. Feudal distinctions of rank wer...
Theories of social class were fully elaborated only in the 19th century as the modern social sciences, especially sociology, developed. Political philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau discussed the issues of social inequality and stratification, and French and English writers in the late 18th and early 19th centu...
For Marx, what distinguishes one type of society from another is its mode of production (i.e., the nature of its technology and division of labour), and each mode of production engenders a distinctive class system in which one class controls and directs the process of production while another class is, or other classes are, the direct producers and providers of services to the dominant class. The relations between the classes are antagonistic because they are in conflict over the appropriation of what is produced, and in certain periods, when the mode of production itself is changing as a result of developments in technology and in the utilization of labour, such conflicts become extreme and a new class challenges the dominance of the existing rulers of society. The dominant class, according to Marx, controls not only material production but also the production of ideas; it thus establishes a particular cultural style and a dominant political doctrine, and its control over society is consolidated in a particular type of political system. Rising classes that gain strength and influence as a result of changes in the mode of production generate political doctrines and movements in opposition to the ruling class.
The theory of class is at the centre of Marx’s social theory, for it is the social classes formed within a particular mode of production that tend to establish a particular form of state, animate political conflicts, and bring about major changes in the structure of society.
Subsequent theories of class have been chiefly concerned with revising, refuting, or providing an alternative to Marxism. Early in the 20th century, German sociologist Max Weber questioned the importance of social classes in the political development of modern societies, pointing out that religious mores, nationalism, and other factors played significant roles. Weber proposed limiting the concept of class to impersonal income distinctions between groups, thereby distinguishing class from social status, collectivities, or political hierarchies. But the Marxian emphasis on the importance of class conflict—i.e., on the conflict and struggle between the classes for control of the means of production—has been the most controversial issue dividing social theorists in their analysis of class structure. Many opponents of Marxist theory have focused attention on the functional interdependence of different classes and their harmonious collaboration with each other. And indeed, by the mid-20th century, it seemed undeniable that the classes in capitalist societies had tended to lose some of their distinctive character, and the antagonism between them had declined to such an extent that in most economically advanced countries it no longer produced serious political conflict. That trend seemed to have been arrested by the early 21st century, however, as growing inequality of wealth and income became a major political issue in some advanced countries, particularly the United States. Moreover, Marxism’s prediction of the proletariat’s successful revolution against the bourgeoisie and its replacement of the capitalist system with a classless society have rung hollow in light of the dismal record of most Marxist governments and their wholesale collapse from internal causes between 1989 and 1991.
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Despite controversies over the theory of class, there is general agreement among social scientists on the characteristics of the principal social classes in modern societies. Sociologists generally posit three classes: upper, working (or lower), and middle.
The upper class in modern capitalist societies is often distinguished by the possession of largely inherited wealth. The ownership of large amounts of property and the income derived from it confer many advantages upon the members of the upper class. They are able to develop a distinctive style of life based on extensive cultural pursuits and leisure activities, to exert a considerable influence on economic policy and political decisions, and to procure for their children a superior education and economic opportunities that help to perpetuate family wealth.
Historically, the principal contrast with the upper class in industrial societies was provided by the working class, which traditionally consisted of manual workers in the extractive and manufacturing industries. Given the vast expansion of the service sector in the world’s most advanced economies, it has been necessary to broaden this definition to include in the working class those persons who hold low-paying, low-skilled, nonunionized jobs in such industries as food service and retail sales. There are considerable differences within the working class, however, and a useful distinction exists between skilled, semiskilled, and unskilled workers that broadly corresponds to differences in income level. What characterizes the working class as a whole is a lack of property and dependence on wages. Associated with this condition are relatively low living standards, restricted access to higher education, and exclusion, to a large extent, from the spheres of important decision making. Aside from the dramatic rise in living standards that occurred in the decades after World War II, the main factor affecting the working class since the mid-20th century was a general shift in the economy from manufacturing to service industries, which reduced the number of manual workers. In the United States and Britain, among other countries, the decline in traditional manufacturing industries left a core of chronically unemployed persons isolated from the economic mainstream in decaying urban areas. This new urban substratum of permanently jobless and underemployed workers has been termed the underclass by some sociologists.
The middle class may be said to include the middle and upper levels of clerical workers, those engaged in technical and professional occupations, supervisors and managers, and such self-employed workers as small-scale shopkeepers, businesspersons, and farmers. At the top—wealthy professionals or managers in large corporations—the middle class merges into the upper class, while at the bottom—routine and poorly paid jobs in sales, distribution, and transport—it merges into the working class.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Aug 4, 2016 · Social Class refers to divisions in society based on economic and social status. People in the same social class typically share a similar level of wealth, educational achievement, type of job and income. Social Class is one of the most important concepts within AS and A Level Sociology because of the relationship between social class ...
Jan 3, 2024 · Social class is a fundamental concept in sociology, serving as a lens through which we can examine the structure of society and the various dynamics at play within it. At its core, social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions between individuals and groups in society based on factors such as wealth, income, education, occupation, and social status.
Dec 9, 2019 · In this sense, social class is determined strongly by one's level of cultural capital, a concept developed by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu (1930–2002) in his 1979 work "Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste." Bourdieu said that levels of class are determined by the attainment of a specific set of knowledge, behaviors, and skills that allow a person to navigate in ...
Sep 4, 2022 · The term “social class” refers to a capitalist society’s classification of strata, with wealth, income, and occupation as the distinguishing factors between social classes. Chester L. Hunt and Paul B. Horton state that “social class is a stratum of people of a similar position in the social status continuum.”.
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Social class refers to a group of people with similar levels of wealth, influence, and status. Sociologists typically use three methods to determine social class: The objective method measures and analyzes “hard” facts. The subjective method asks people what they think of themselves. The reputational method asks what people think of others.
