(P/B) CLASSES

Παρουσίαση

Class analysis and class struggle are central concepts in Marx's social theory yet, notoriously, Marx never wrote a systematic exposition of these terms during his lifetime, and succeeding generations have had to piece together interpretations from his many scattered references and discussions. The problem of trying to develop a Marxist class analysis on this basis has been made all the more acute by changes in the class structure of advanced capitalism, for these have thrown up a bewildering range of new social strata which seem to be difficult to reconcile with the many traditional understandings of class.
In Classes, Erik Olin Wright, one of the foremost Marxist sociologists and class theorists, rises to the twofold challenge of both clarifying the abstract, structural account of class implicit in Marx, and of applying and refining the account in the light of contemporary developments in advanced capitalist societies. Recentering the concept of class on the process of exploitation, Wright discusses his famous notion of "contradictory class locations" in relation to the empirical complexities of the middle class, and he provides an analysis of class structure in "post-capitalist" societies. Wright then goes on to draw out the implications of his approach and to submit it to detailed empirical testing with the use of a trans-national survey of class structure and consciousness. (From the publisher)

Περιεχόμενα

Preface
1. Posing the Problem: The Agenda of Class Analysis
The Legacy of Marx
The Agenda of Contemporary Marxist Class Analysis
Part One: Conceptual Issues
2. The Biography of a Concept: Contradictory Class Locations
Steps in the Analysis of the Formation of the Concept of Contradictory Locations
The Empirical Setting
Theoretical Constraints
Alternative Solutions
Building a New Concept
Problems with Conceptualization
3. A General Framework for the Analysis of Class
Roemer's Account of Class and Exploitation
Towards a General Framework of Class Analysis
Once Again, Unresolved Problems
4. Implications and Elaboration of the General Framework
Alternative Class Theories
Mode of Production and Social Formation
The Theory of History
Legitimation and Motivation
Class Structure and Form of the State
Class Structure and Class Formation
Class Alliances
Women in the Class Structure Conclusion
Part Two: Empirical Investigations
5. Empirically Adjudicating Contending Class Definitions
Operationalizing the Adjudications
Reformulation of Hypotheses
Note on Statistical Procedures
Empirical Results
Conclusion
6. Class Structure in Contemporary Capitalism: A Comparison of Sweden and the United States
Class Distributions
Explaining Differences in Class Structures
Class and Family
Class Structure and Income
7. Class Structure and Class Consciousness in Contemporary Capitalist Society
What is Class Consciousness?
Causal Logic
Operationalizations
A Note on Statistical Procedures
Empirical Results
Conclusions
Conclusion
The Exploitation Centred Concept of Class
The Class Structure of Contemporary Capitalism
Class Structure and Politics
Political Implications
Appendix I: Practical Strategies for Transforming Concepts
Appendix II: Variable Constructions
Appendix III: Full Data for Selected Tables
Bibliography
Index