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"What are the causes of inequality in capitalist society? In Understanding Class, leading left sociologist Erik Olin Wright returns to the fundamental concept underlying this question, and interrogates the different theories and paradigms that have arisen for understanding it. Beginning with class analysis in Marx and Weber, proceeding through the writings of Charles Tilly and others, and finally examining how class struggle and class compromise play out in contemporary society, Understanding Class provides a complex but compelling view of how to think through inequality"--

Few themes have been as central to sociology as 'class' and yet class remains a perpetually contested idea. Sociologists disagree not only on how best to define the concept of class but on its general role in social theory and indeed on its continued relevance to the sociological analysis of contemporary society. Some people believe that classes have largely dissolved in contemporary societies; others believe class remains one of the fundamental forms of social inequality and social power. Some see class as a narrow economic phenomenon whilst others adopt an expansive conception that includes cultural dimensions as well as economic conditions. This 2005 book explores the theoretical foundations of six major perspectives of class with each chapter written by an expert in the field. It concludes with a conceptual map of these alternative approaches by posing the question: 'If class is the answer, what is the question?'

This textbook provides a lively and penetrating exploration of the concept of class and its relevance for understanding a wide range of issues in contemporary society. Erik Olin Wright combines a sophisticated account of central and enduring questions in social theory with practical analyses of detailed social problems

This textbook provides students with a lively and penetrating exploration of the concept of class and its relevance for understanding a wide range of issues in contemporary society. Erik Olin Wright treats class as a common explanatory factor and examines three broad themes: class structure, class and gender, and class consciousness. Specific empirical studies include such diverse topics as class variations in the gender division of labour in housework; friendship networks across class boundaries; the American class structure since 1960; and cross-national variations in class consciousness. The author evaluates these studies in the light of expectations within the Marxist tradition of class analysis. This Student Edition of Class Counts thus combines Wright's sophisticated account of central and enduring questions in social theory with practical analyses of detailed social problems

Auteur de très nombreux travaux sur les rapports de classe durant plus de quatre décennies, Erik Olin Wright (1947-2019) a renouvelé l'approche marxiste. Il a notamment cherché à prendre au sérieux les effets des transformations du capitalisme sur les structures de classe, en particulier la croissance des positions intermédiaires entre propriétaires capitalistes et travailleur·ses exploité·es, associées à des postes d'encadrement et à des fonctions d'expertise. Son œuvre reste mal connue en France – malgré l'écho rencontré par la traduction de son dernier ouvrage consacré aux « utopies réelles », qui propose des réponses au problème de la stratégie de transformation sociale 2 . La traduction par Ugo Palheta de Class Counts aux Éditions Amsterdam, annoncée pour 2020, devrait changer la donne. Elles nous font l'honneur de publier ici un extrait de l'introduction.

The author lays out the distinctive features of a neo-Marxist class approach used in present-day sociology. First, he clarifies what exactly constitutes the fundamental point of class analysis within the Marxist framework and what it tries to accomplish. This work also provides a description of similarities and differences between the Weberian and Marxist traditions with regard to the conceptual components and pivotal explanatory ambitions. The distinctive hallmark of the Marxian approach is that it defines the concept of social class in terms of exploitation. In Wright's view, the theoretical pay-off of elaborating the Marxian-inspired conception of class, which is based on social relations of production on the one hand and exploitation and domination on the other, is that this conception infuses class analysis with moral critique. Such an analysis can function not simply as part of a scientific theory of interests and conflicts, but also as a constituent of an emancipatory theory offering alternatives to capitalism on the basis of social justice.