Class Counts: Student Edition

Studies in Marxism and Social Theory

by Erik Olin Wright

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. The book presents a sophisticated account of the theoretical foundations in an accessible and engaging manner. It then explores class using cross-national comparative data on topics such as social mobility, housework, friendship patterns, class structure and class consciousness. 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.

Genres: Sociology, Theory, Philosophy, Nonfiction

312 pages, Paperback

First published July 5, 1996

About the author

Erik Olin Wright was an American analytical Marxist sociologist, specializing in social stratification, and in egalitarian alternative futures to capitalism. He was the (2012) President of the American Sociological Association.
Erik Olin Wright received two BAs (from Harvard College in 1968, and from Balliol College in 1970), and the PhD from University of California, Berkeley, in 1976. Since that time, he has been a professor of sociology at University of Wisconsin - Madison.
Wright has been described as an "influential new left theorist." His work is concerned mainly with the study of social classes, and in particular with the task of providing an update to and elaboration of the Marxist concept of class, in order to enable Marxist and non-Marxist researchers alike to use 'class' to explain and predict people's material interests, lived experiences, living conditions, incomes, organizational capacities and willingness to engage in collective action, political leanings, etc. In addition, he has attempted to develop class categories that would allow researchers to compare and contrast the class structures and dynamics of different advanced capitalist and 'post-capitalist' societies.

Reviews

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reading this text I could not help myself of thinking of the Muslim fundamentalists : the proletariat is a god, the only god and Marx is it's messenger. And hordes of leeches paid by tax money will bring the gospel in sync with the current times.

[Ari Stillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written with epistemic humility, Wright introduces, contextualizes, and synthesizes key concepts in conceptualizing and researching social class. The book is dually oriented toward two audiences: non-Marxists who might be skeptical in using Marxist frameworks to pursue quantitative empirical research, and Marxists who are skeptical of quantitative research to pursue class analysis. Remarkably, Wright is able to approach both in the same breath although those without a quantitative background might be hard-pressed to understand the mechanics of his methodology despite being articulated conceptually. I found the book illuminating to contextualize and clarify concepts often bandied about in discussions of social class that often assume orthodox Marxist readings but are not without more modern, nuanced, and empirically helpful interpretations.

[أميرة · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overwhelming