--------------------Aditya Mongra @ Professors Classes-------------------Class

Class has formed one of the core concepts of sociological analysis since
sociology took shape as a discipline. Yet despite, or perhaps even because of, this,
it is a concept often struggled over by sociologists themselves. It can mean
different things depending on context, and different again is the common usage by
which people define their own and each others class.
Marxs view of class (on the basis of the ownership and non-ownership of
the means of production)
Webers view of class (market situation)
However, in the later part of the 20th century, the concept of class was further
refined in light of the changes in advanced industrial societies.
Ralf Dahrendorfs view of class (decomposition of capital and
decomposition of labour). Please note that Ralf Dahrendorf (1929-2009) was
a German-British sociologist.
Anthony Giddenss view of class: Anthony Giddens (1938 - ) is a British
sociologist. Giddens identifies three major classes in advanced capitalist
society:
1. Upper class based on ownership of property in the means of
production
2. Middle class based on possession of educational or technical
qualifications
3. Lower class based on possession of manual labour-power
Erik Olin Wrights view of class: Erik Olin Wright (1947 - ) is an
American Marxist sociologist. Wright has developed an influential theory of
class which combines the aspects of both Marxian and Weberian
approaches. He has identified three important criteria that determine the
class position in modern industrial societies:
1. Ownership Wright argues that ownership of means of
production still remains an important criterion in determining the
class positions of individuals. As a result people do gain economic
advantage and by virtue of which they command greater prestige
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--------------------Aditya Mongra @ Professors Classes-------------------and power in society. But it is only one of the criteria, not the sole
criterion as Marx claimed.
2. Credential skills Wright further argues that in modern complex
societies, with greater division and specialization of labour, people
have to undergo formal training in specialized fields for long
duration. People acquire skills which are certified through
credentials like diplomas and degrees. Wright argues that
credential skills increases the bargaining power and enhances the
market value of the individuals.
3. Organisational asset According to Wright, the position that an
individual occupies in the organisational structure is also an
important factor in determining his class position. Please note that
it is possible that an individual with low credential skills may
occupy high position in the organisational structure or an
individual with high credential skills may occupy low position in
the organisational structure. For example, a graduate, on qualifying
the Civil Services Examination in India, occupies a high position
in the bureaucratic structure, and as a result enjoys higher
authority. While a PhD holder, despite having high credential skills
may still be working as a low ranking official in the government
service, and thus has lesser authority in the organisational
structure.

--------------------Aditya Mongra @ Professors Classes------------------- Jan Pakulski and Malcom Waters: The Death of Class
In recent years there has been a vigorous debate within sociology
about the usefulness of the concept of class. Some sociologists have even
questioned whether it is still a useful concept in attempting to understand
contemporary societies. Australian academicians Jan Pakulski and Malcom
Waters have been prominent amongst those who argue that class is no longer
the key to understanding contemporary societies. In their book, The Death
of Class (1996), they argue that contemporary societies have undergone
profound social changes and are no longer to be accurately seen as class
societies.
Pakulski and Waters argue that industrial societies are now
undergoing a period of tremendous social change and the political, social
and economic importance of class is in decline. Industrial societies have
changed from being organized class societies to a new stage, which they call
status conventionalism. Pakulski and Waters use this term to indicate that
inequalities, although they remain, are the result of differences in status
(prestige) and in the lifestyle and consumption patterns favoured by such
status groups. So, class has outlived its utility as a conceptual tool to
describe pattern of inequality in society and to explain conflict and change in
society. For Pakulski and Waters, contemporary societies are stratified, but
this stratification is achieved through cultural consumption (lifestyle), not
class position in the division of labour.
In the age of globalization, marked by greater geographical mobility,
people now live in an individualized society. Rather than see themselves
as members of a social class, people nowadays tend to see themselves
simply as individuals. Their identity will be more influenced by their status,
through their consumption patterns and through factors such as their race,
gender, regional or national identity, ethnicity, etc.
However, critics argue that in the theory of Pakulski and Waters, there
is an implicit reference to the highly developed, industrially advanced
societies where the class inequalities have significantly reduced on account
of strong welfare state. But in the third world societies which are marked by
gross economic inequalities, the concept of class is still a relevant and useful
tool for the analysis of social stratification.
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--------------------Aditya Mongra @ Professors Classes------------------- John Scott and Lydia Morris

More recently, John Scott and Lydia Morris have argued for a need to
make a distinction between the class positions of individuals (their location
in a division of labour) and the collective phenomena of social class through
which people express a sense of belonging to a group and have a shared
sense of identity and values. It is this latter aspect of class that appears to
have diminished in recent years. This does not mean that status and the
cultural aspects of stratification are now so dominant that the economic
aspects of class are of no significance; indeed, mobility studies and
inequalities of wealth indicate the opposite. Class is not dead it is just
becoming that bit more complex.