Debates on Classes

Classes stood out for its clarity of exposition, its orientation to research, and its interest in the broad relationship of sociological theory and findings to politics, history, and philosophy. These qualities are also present in the compilation you have. Readers who have not read Classes or who want to refresh their memories of it will find its main theses summarized in Chapter One.

Political parties, unions or struggle organizations all need a map of the society in which they operate, and today there are few issues as controversial as the persistence of social differentiation and inequality. What allies can those seeking social transformation look for, and what interests are at stake when the dominant pattern of social relations is challenged? The contributors to “Debates on Class ” are concerned with these issues as well as with the adequacy of existing sociological models.

Wright's original work drew on Marxist and Weberian ideas to relate class theory to historical development and the differing interests, perspectives, and potential of different major social classes. The insistence that individuals do not necessarily conform to only one social class, and that there are in fact a range of 'contradictory class positions' in which some find themselves at the intersection of different class positions, constitutes one of Wright's most original perceptions. Wright continues this fruitful idea, in an elaborate reformulation, in Chapter Eight of this book.

“Debates on Classes ” is an example of an academic—and political—debate in which there is also a willingness to reexamine preconcepts and subject the argument to empirical tests.

(From the Promotional Bulletin)

Dough Type: 2nd Dough

Number of Pages: 424

Size: 13.5 x 19.5

First Print Year: 2017

Number of Printings: 1st Edition

Media Type: Paperback