Class Counts: Comparative Studies in Class Analysis

by Erik Olin Wright

Overview

Class Counts constitutes one of the few attempts to use systematically the concept of class from the Marxist tradition of social theory in quantitative research. The research in the book covers a wide range of topics, including the class character of friendship patterns, class mobility, the sexual division of labor in housework, gender differences in managerial authority, and class consciousness. What unites the topics is not a preoccupation with a common object of explanation, but rather a common explanatory factor: class.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521553872
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/28/1996
Series:	Studies in Marxism and Social Theory
Pages:	618
Product dimensions:	6.18(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.50(d)

Table of Contents

1. Class analysis; Part I. The Class Structure of Capitalism and its Transformations: 2. Class structure in comparative perspective; 3. The transformation of the American class structure, 1960–90; 4. The fall and rise of the petty bourgeoisie; Part II. The Permeability of Class Boundaries: 5. Class-boundaries permeability: conceptual and methodological issues; 6. Permeability of class boundaries to intergenerational mobility; 7. Cross-class friendships; 8. Cross-class families; Part III. Class and Gender: 9. Conceptualizing the interaction of class and gender; 10. Individuals, families and class analysis; 11. The non-effects of class on the gendered division of labor in the home; 12. The gender gap in workplace authority; Part IV. Class Structure and Class Consciousness; 13. A general framework for studying class consciousness and class formation; 14. Class consciousness and class formation in Sweden, the United States and Japan; 15. Class, state employment and consciousness; 16. Temporality, class structure and class consciousness; Part V. Conclusion; 17. Confirmations, surprises and theoretical reconstructions; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"This book reports on the single most important sociological research project of the last decade....It offers interesting empirical evidence, analyzed competently and making those data speak to the most abstract theoretical issues. It is a great way to introduce students in sociology to the way to use empirical research to examine the great traditions of sociology and at the same time address vital contemporary issues. Scholars working on social stratification, mobility, inequalities, gender, race will take this work as their point of departure for the next decade." Professor Ivan Szelenyi, University of California, Los Angeles

"In this important and innovative study, Erik Olin Wright presents a challenging theoretical and empirical cross-national analysis of class relations and class consciousness. In a systematic and rigorous fashion, Wright explores the social dynamics of class position, class formation, class mobility, and class consciousness and relates them to the world of work, gender relations, race, family and friendship patterns. This study will be a key reference point in future discussion of competing approaches to class analysis and the place of class in contemporary societies." Professor Bob Jessop, Lancaster University

"In recent years it has become fashionable to question the usefulness of class analysis. Class Counts is Erik Wright's clear and convincing answer to the skeptics. Wright shows how class analysis makes sense of the inequalities that divide postindustrial society." Professor Michael Hout, University of California, Berkeley

"By any standard, this book represents a considerable achievement. There can be no doubt that it will become a standard text for researchers and teachers alike." Ira Katznelson, Contemporary Sociology

"A review cannot do justice to the depth and variety of material covered....Class Counts demonstrates once again that Wright is a versatile and imaginative analyst of data. One learns a lot about making sensible research decisions by reading the methodological appendices attached to twelve of the chapters in this book. Wright also shows impressive intellectual honesty." Tom Mayer, American Political Science Review

From the Publisher