Class in the Post-Industrial Society: A Comparative Study of Class Analysis

Author: Eric Olin Wright (USA)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-06-01
Features: Class in the Post-Industrial Society is a model that combines theoretical discussions on the concept of class with a series of extensive comparative empirical investigations of classes and their branches in developed capitalist societies. What ties the subject together is not a single, compelling phenomenon with a universal explanatory object, but rather a universal explanatory factor. This work explores four broad themes: class structure and its changes, the permeability of class boundaries, class and gender, and class consciousness. Specific empirical studies include topics such as gender division of household labor, gender differences in managerial power, friendship networks within class structures, the expansion of the self-employed class in the United States over the past 20 years, and class consciousness between public and private sector employment. Finally, the book evaluates the research findings in two aspects: confirming certain expectations of the Marxist class analysis tradition and presenting challenging unexpected discoveries.