Erik Olin Wright, editor

INTRODUCTION

Alternative Foundations of Class Analysis

In March 2001, on the morning BBC Radio news program, a report was presented discussing a new se en!categor" class scheme #eing used in the British Census$ %isteners were in ited to the BBC we#site to see what class the" were in$ Within a &ew da"s there were o er '0,000 hits on the site, a record &or this sort o& thing$ (t least &or the segment o& the British population that listens to the BBC morning news, class remains a salient issue$ In the #roadcast a num#er o& people were inter iewed$ One police inspector responded to #eing told that he was now classi&ied in Class I along with doctors, law"ers and chie& e)ecuti es o& corporations, #" sa"ing *+oes it mean now I ha e to wear tennis whites when I go out to do m" gardening,$$$$I don-t see m"sel& sociall" or economicall" in the same class as them$. In a su#se/uent *li e chat. program with 0ro&essor +a id Rose o& Esse) 1ni ersit", the principle designer o& the new census categories, man" people called up complaining a#out the coding scheme$ ( truck dri er o#2ected to #eing in Class 3II on the grounds that his 2o# was /uite skilled and he had to use new in&ormation technologies and computers on his 2o#$ +a id Rose e)plained that the classi&ication was meant to capture di&&erences in the nature o& the emplo"ment contract and conditions o& work, not the skill le el o& 2o#s, and truck dri ers t"picall" had /uite insecure conditions o& emplo"ment$ (nother person asked *4ow can "ou ha e a sense o& solidarit" and consciousness when "ou-re 56i e- or 57e en-, Can "ou imagine the Communist Mani&esto written #" the 1ni ersit" o& Esse), 58he histor" o& all hitherto e)isting societies is the histor" o& little internecine wars #etween class groups 1 and 2 and class groups 9 to :,- +oesn-t ha e the same ring does it,. 8hese comments #" listeners on the BBC re&lect the general am#iguit" o& the term *class. in the popular imagination$ 8o some people it connotes li&est"le and tastes, the wearing o& tennis whites while

gardening$ 8o others it is mainl" a#out social status, esteem and respect; to #e reclassi&ied *down. the class hierarch" is seen as demeaning$ 7ome see classes as social categories engaged in collecti e &orms o& con&lict, shaping the destin" o& societ"$ 0oliticians call &or *middle class ta) cuts. #" which the" simpl" mean *ta) cuts &or people in the middle range o& the income distri#ution$. (nd man" people, like +a id Rose, see class as identi&"ing the #asic determinants o& a person-s economic prospects$ Introduction 2 8hese am#iguities in popular usages are also present in more academic discussions o& class$ 8he word class is deplo"ed in a wide range o& descripti e and e)planator" conte)ts in sociolog", 2ust as it is in popular discourse, and o& course, depending upon the conte)t, di&&erent concepts o& class ma" #e needed$ 6i e #road kinds /uestions are particularl" common in the scholarl" literature &or which the word *class. &igures centrall" in the answer; 6irst, the word *class. sometimes &igures in the answer to the /uestion; *4ow do people, indi iduall" and collecti el", locate themselves and others within a social structure o& ine/ualit",. Class is one o& the possi#le answers to this /uestion$ In this case the concept would #e de&ined something like this; *Classes are social categories sharing su#2ecti el"! salient attri#utes used #" people to rank those categories within a s"stem o& economic strati&ication.$ With this de&inition o& class, the actual content o& these e aluati e attri#utes will ar" considera#l" across time and place$ In some conte)ts, class!as!su#2ecti e!classi&ication will re ol e around li&e st"les, in others around occupations, and in still others around income le els$ 7ometimes the economic content o& the su#2ecti e classi&ication s"stem is /uite direct < as in income le els= in other conte)ts, it is more indirect, as in e)pressions such as *the respecta#le classes., the *dangerous classes.$ 8he num#er o& classes will also ar" conte)tuall" depending upon how the actors in a social situation themsel es de&ine class distinctions$ Class is not de&ined #" a set o& o#2ecti e properties o& a person-s social situation, #ut #" the shared su#2ecti e understandings o& people a#out rankings within social ine/ualit"$ Class, in this sense o& the word, would #e contrasted to other &orms o& salient e aluation < religion, ethnicit", gender, occupation, etc$ < which ma" ha e economic dimensions #ut which are not centrall" de&ined in economic terms$1 7econd, class is o&ten central to the /uestion, *4ow are people objectively located in distri#utions o& material ine/ualit"$. In this case, class is de&ined in terms o& material standards o& li ing, usuall" inde)ed

#" income or, possi#l", wealth$ Class, in this agenda, is a gradational 1$ ( classic e)ample o& a sociologist who deplo"ed this kind o& su#2ecti ist class concept was W$ %lo"d Warner >1?@?A$ Introduction 3 concept= the standard image is o& rungs on a ladder, and the names &or locations are accordingl" such things as upper class, upper middle class, middle class, lower middle class, lower class, under class$2 8his is the concept o& class that &igures most prominentl" in popular discourse, at least in countries like the 1nited 7tates without a strong working!class political tradition$ When (merican politicians call &or *middle class ta) cuts. what the" characteristicall" mean is ta) cuts &or people in the middle o& the income distri#ution$ 7u#2ecti e aspects o& the location o& people within s"stems o& strati&ication ma" still #e important in sociological in estigations using this concept o& class, #ut the word class itsel& is #eing used to capture o#2ecti e properties o& economic ine/ualit", not simpl" the su#2ecti e classi&ications$ Class, in this conte)t, is contrasted with other wa"s that people are o#2ecti el" located within social structures, &or e)ample, #" their citiBenship status, their power, or their su#2ection to institutionaliBed &orms o& ascripti e discrimination$ 8hird, class ma" #e o&&ered as part o& the answer to the /uestion; *What explains ine/ualities in economicall"!de&ined li&e chances and material standards o& li ing,. 8his is a more comple) and demanding /uestion than the &irst two, &or here the issue is not simpl" descripti el" locating people within some kind o& s"stem o& strati&ication !! either su#2ecti el" or o#2ecti el" !! #ut identi&"ing certain causal mechanisms that help determine salient &eatures o& that s"stem$ When class is used to e)plain ine/ualit", t"picall", the concept is not de&ined primaril" #" su#2ecti el"!salient attri#utes o& a social location #ut rather #" the relationship of people to income-generating resources or assets o& arious sorts$ Class thus #ecomes a relational, rather than simpl" gradational concept$ 8his concept o& class is characteristic o& #oth the We#erian and Mar)ist traditions o& social theor"$ Class, in this usage, is contrasted to the man" other determinants o& a person-s li&e chances < &or e)ample, geographical location, &orms o& discrimination anchored in ascripti e characteristics, or genetic endowments$ %ocation, discrimination, and genetic endowments ma", o& course, still &igure in the anal"sis o& class < the" ma", &or e)ample, pla" an important role in e)plaining wh" di&&er! 2$ 6or a discussion o& the contrast #etween gradational and relational conceptions o& class, see Ossowski >1?C9A and Wright >1?:?; '!DA$ Introduction 4

ent sorts o& people end up in di&&erent classes < #ut the de&inition o& class as such centers how people are linked to those income!generating assets$ 6ourth, class o&ten &igures in answers to the /uestion, *What are the economic clea ages in societ" that most s"stematicall" generate o ert con&licts,. (s in the third /uestion, this one suggests a concept o& class closel" linked to the causes o& ine/ualities in economic opportunities, #ut here the concept attempts to identi&" those aspects o& economic ine/ualit" that generate antagonisms o& interest$ Classes would not #e de&ined simpl" #" a commonalt" o& the conditions that generate economic opportunities, #ut those speci&ic clusters o& common conditions that ha e an inherent tendenc" to pit people against each other in the pursuit o& those opportunities$ Mar)ist class anal"sis is o&ten identi&ied with this /uestion, #ut a concern with con&lict &igures in man" other currents o& class anal"sis as well$ 6i&th, class &igures in answers to the /uestion, *4ow should we characteriBe and e)plain the ariations across histor" in the social organiBation o& ine/ualities,. 8his /uestion implies the need &or a macrole el concept, rather than simpl" a micro!le el concept capturing the causal processes o& indi idual li es= and it re/uires a concept that allows &or macro!le el ariations across time and place$ 8his /uestion is also important in #oth the Mar)ist and We#erian traditions, #ut here the two traditions ha e /uite di&&erent answers$ Within the Mar)ist tradition, the most salient aspect o& historical ariation in ine/ualit" is the wa"s in which economic s"stems ar" in the manner in which an economic surplus is produced and appropriated$ 6or We#erians, in contrast, the central pro#lem o& historical ariation is the degree o& rationaliBation o& di&&erent dimensions o& ine/ualit", especiall" class and status$ 6inall", class pla"s a central role in answering the /uestion, *What sorts o& trans&ormations are needed to eliminate economic oppression and e)ploitation within capitalist societies,. 8his is the most contentious /uestion &or it implies not simpl" an e)planator" agenda a#out the mechanisms that generate economic ine/ualities, #ut a normati e 2udgment a#out those ine/ualities < the" are &orms o& oppression and e)ploitation < and a normati e ision o& the trans&ormation o& those ine/ualities$ 8his is the distincti el" Mar)ist /uestion and it suggests a concept o& class laden with normati e content$ It supports a concept o& class which is not simpl" de&ined in terms o& the social relations to Introduction 5 economic resources, #ut which also &igures centrall" in a political pro2ect o& emancipator" social change$

Ei en this di ersit" o& the e)planator" and descripti e tasks within which the word class appears, it is eas" to see wh" de#ates o er class are o&ten con&using$ 7ometimes, o& course, there is a genuine de#ate; alternati e proposals &or what concepts are needed to answer the same /uestion are in dispute$ Other times, howe er, the de#ate simpl" re&lects di&&erent agendas$ 7ome sociologists proclaim that class is disappearing, #" which the" mean that people are less likel" to &orm sta#le identities in class terms and thus less likel" to orient their political #eha ior on the #asis o& class, while others proclaim that class remains an enduring &eature o& contemporar" societ", #" which the" mean that a person-s economic prospects in li&e continue to depend signi&icantl" on their relationship to economicall" alua#le assets o& arious sorts$ 8he central o#2ecti e o& this #ook is to clari&" the comple) arra" o& alternati e conceptualiBations o& class rooted in di&&erent theoretical traditions o& class anal"sis$ Each o& the authors in the #ook has written e)tensi el" on pro#lems o& class and ine/ualit" within di&&erent traditions o& class anal"sis$ Each has #een gi en the assignment o& writing a kind o& theoretical mani&esto &or a particular kind o& class anal"sis$ 8he goal is to clari&" the theoretical &oundations o& each approach; la" out the underl"ing assumptions, s"stematicall" de&ine each conceptual element, demarcate the e)planator" am#itions o& the concept and, where possi#le, di&&erentiate their approach &rom others$ While to a greater or lesser e)tent most o& the approaches ha e their roots in an intellectual tradition linked to some classical social theorist < Mar), We#er, +urkheim, Ricardo < the chapters are not meant to #e primaril" an e)egesis o& the concept o& class within the te)ts o& these &ounding &igures$ For are the" meant to #e authoritati e canonical statements a#out what counts as genuine *Mar)ist. or *We#erian. or an" other kind o& class anal"sis$ Each o& these traditions has considera#le internal ariation and, accordingl", the concept o& class will #e ela#orated in di&&erent wa"s #" di&&erent scholars all claiming to #e working within the same #road current o& thought$ What the" each do attempt to do is ela#orate the anal"tical &oundations o& the conceptualiBation o& class within each author-s #od" o& work, and #" doing so, clari&" the #roader terrain o& ariation within class anal"sis$ Introduction 6 7i) di&&erent perspecti es are presented$ Chapter 1, #" Erik Olin Wright, e)plores class anal"sis within the Mar)ist tradition$ 4ere the central idea is de&ining the concept o& class in terms o& processes o& e)ploitation and linking the concept to alternati e s"stems o& economic

relations$ Chapter 2, #" Richard Breen, e)amines a &orm o& class anal"sis linked to the We#erian tradition and associated with the work o& the British 7ociologist Gohn Eoldthorpe$ 8he central concern here is de eloping a concept o& class #uilt around the economic li&e chances o& people, more speci&icall" around the character o& the emplo"ment relations a aila#le within la#or markets and work organiBations$ Chapter 9, #" +a id Erusk", de elops class anal"sis along +urkheimian lines$ 8he guiding principle is the wa"s in which detailed locations within di isions o& la#or create homogeneous e&&ects on the li es o& people$ Class locations should #e identi&ied with these highl" disaggregated categories within s"stems o& strati&ication$ Chapter @, #" Elliott Weininger, la"s out the central principles o& the kind o& class anal"sis identi&ied with the 6rench sociologist 0ierre Bourdieu$ In this &ramework, class is de&ined with respect to a ariet" o& dimensions o& *capital., where capital is understood as a multidimensional space o& power relations that shapes #oth the opportunities and the dispositions o& actors$ Chapter ', #" (age 7orensen, presents an approach to class anal"sis that draws hea il" on the reasoning o& neoclassical economics$ In this conceptualiBation o& class, classes would not e)ist at all in a per&ectl" competiti e market with complete in&ormation$ Classes occur onl" where there are the kinds o& market imper&ections that create rents that can #e captured #" some groups o& actors and not others$ 6inall", in Chapter C, Gan 0akulski ela#orates the &oundations o& what might #e termed *anti!class anal"sis.$ 4e argues that class, especiall" as understood in the Mar)ist and We#erian traditions, is no longer an empiricall" use&ul categor"$ Ine/ualit" ma" continue to #e an important issue in contemporar" societ", #ut ine/ualit", in his iew, is no longer organiBed along class lines$