Social class

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Since prehistory, all societies have perceived hierarchy among their members. Leaders and followers, strong and weak, rich and poor: social classifications are universal. Humans have invented numerous ways to classify people—by wealth, power, or prestige; by ability, education, or occupation; even by where they live. The term "social class" originally referred to groups of people holding similar roles in the economic processes of production and exchange, such as landowner or tenant, employer or employee. Such positions correspond to different levels of status, prestige, and access to political power, but social class eventually took on a more generic meaning and came to refer to all aspects of a person's rank in the social hierarchy.

Belonging to a social class is not merely an objective fact, but is generally accompanied by a perception of class identity. In this sense, social class is not merely a personal attribute, but also a contextual variable that characterizes a group of people. The shared culture of a particular class influences, and is influenced by, people's attitudes and lifestyle. Social class, therefore, influences health. Centuries of observations have linked social class to patterns of disease (see Krieger, Williams, and Moss, 1997). Accordingly, epidemiologists frequently present statistics on mortality and morbidity tabulated by social class, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. However, social class is an abstract and complex concept whose influence is blended with many others in predicting disease. Both Figures 1 and 2, for example, show how the effects of social class (here, indicated by family income and educational level) interact with racial or ethnic factors. However, classifications by age, religion, race, or sex lack the implication of hierarchy and are not normally considered under the heading of social class.

Social class may be ascribed at birth, as with royalty or nobility, or with castes in Hindu societies. More commonly, however, a person's position at birth is modified by his or her achievements, typically through education, occupation, or income. Class cannot be measured directly. Instead, indicators of socioeconomic status, typically based on educational attainment, income, wealth, or occupation, are used. While few would consider these to be ideal indicators of social class, they nonetheless show consistent associations with health status, such that poorer or less educated people die younger and experience more illness and disability than richer or more educated people. These indicators each have strengths and shortcomings.

A simple occupational classification has been used in Britain throughout the twentieth century for analyses linking social class and health. The British Registrar General for Births and Deaths ranks occupations in six broad categories that reflect a judgment of the skill level and social prestige of each occupation. This has been followed by other, more complex classifications, such as the 100-point occupational scale of Tremain. This applies internationally and allows comparisons between developing and industrial countries. These categories have the advantage of capturing the notion of shared culture implicit in social class, but they are limited because there is no adequate way to classify people who are not in the labor force, such as retired people, housewives, or students. Furthermore, the status of occupations changes with economic development, complicating comparisons across times and across cultures. Finally, occupation shares a limitation with income, in that reverse causality may occur whereby occupational status (or income) may be influenced by the level of health.

The advantages of education as an indicator of social status include simplicity and universality: educational level can be recorded for all adults, whether working or not, and it is less likely than occupation or income to be influenced by health. But education is generally finished in early adulthood, and may no longer reflect a person's status in later years. Care must also be taken when drawing comparisons of educational levels across generations, since educational attainment changes from generation to generation.

Income or wealth are also frequently used as indicators of social class, and hold the advantage of sensitivity to variations in a person's status over time. Wealth is not simple to record, however; data on income must be supplemented by information on the number of people supported by the income, and on other assets such as savings and property. Because of shortcomings in each of these indicators, several authors have used indicators that combine education, occupation, and income.

While socioeconomic status is generally considered a characteristic of individuals, contextual measures of social class may also be relevant in explaining patterns of health. Thus, for a population we may record not only the average level of income or wealth, but also the extent of income disparities, or class divergence, in the society. Such indicators can indicate social class characteristics of the society, rather than summarizing patterns in the society.

Contemporary epidemiologic analyses assume that it is not so much social class per se that influences health, but characteristics associated with class. There are several channels through which class or socioeconomic position may influence health:

• Certain health hazards may be directly associated with social position, such as exposure to hazardous substances or processes in the workplace.
• Alternatively, social class may influence health via behaviors that follow social patterns, such as diet, cigarette smoking, or leisure-time physical activity.
• Wealth can influence health directly, by providing access to safe and healthy housing, adequate food, and medical care and supplies when needed. Wealth also enhances educational attainment in a person's children, and so influences their subsequent earning capacity; in this manner the association between poverty and health tends to perpetuate itself across generations.
• Education also facilitates access to information that can benefit health. More educated people are better able to communicate with their physicians and interact with the health care system, and make informed choices among treatment options.
• Higher social status is associated with attitudes, such as positive self-esteem or a sense of being in control of one's life, that are positively associated with a range of indicators of health (especially mental health). Such feelings are difficult to maintain when a person is unemployed.

Contemporary analyses of social class in health research have evolved from using it as a simple classification toward using class as a starting point for a more complete analysis of possible channels of influence. The next stage, perhaps, will be to incorporate an understanding of social class dynamics into designing approaches to prevention and health promotion.

(SEE ALSO: Cultural Factors; Economics of Health; Ethnicity and Health; Inequalities in Health; Social Determinants)

Bibliography

Berkman, L. F., and Macintyre, S. (1997). "The Measurement of Social Class in Health Studies: Old Measures and New Formulations." In Social Inequalities and Cancer. eds. M. Kogevinas, N. Pearce, M. Susser, and P. Boffetta. Lyon: International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Krieger, N.; Williams, D. R.; and Moss, N. E. (1997). "Measuring Social Class in U.S. Public Health; Research: Concepts, Methodologies, and Guidelines." Annual Review of Public Health 18:341–378.

Smedley, B. D., and Syme, L. S., eds. (2000). Promoting Health: Strategies from Social and Behavioral Research. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Available at http://books.nap.edu.

Szretzer, R. S. (1984). "The Genesis of the Registrar General's Social Classification of Occupations." British Journal of Sociology 35:522–546.

Tremain, D. J. (1977). Occupational Prestige in Comparative Perspective. New York: Academic Press.

Wilkinson, R. G. (1996). Unhealthy Societies: The Afflictions of Inequality. London: Routledge.

— IAN MCDOWELL

Class, social A grouping separating a society into subsets defined in terms of status, privilege, place in the processes of economic production, access to power and authority, and sometimes an individual's self-definition in such terms. In a complex society various measures of class may come apart: for example, the traditional upper class may be relatively impoverished.

A division of society that shares a similar social and economic status, and, in some societies, ancestry. Social class is used as an indicator of an individual's position, status, or power in society. Social mobility of individuals is generally easy within a given social class, but more difficult between different social classes.

Social class or social stratification is defined by unequal access to desirable resources (such as money, goods, and services) or personal gratification (such as prestige or respect). The sociologist Max Weber argued that social class was a function of differential wealth, political power, and status. The various dimensions of social class have different influences on food consumption and its consequences. Income and wealth provide access to food or constrain food purchases. Education provides knowledge, skills, and beliefs that shape food desires and place constraints on food choices by means of information acquisition and food preparation. Occupation not only represents prestige but also structures time and constrains the attention that can be given to food. Occupation-generated work hours and lifestyle choices affect what is eaten as well as where and with whom food is eaten.

Distinctions are made between classes. The lower class (often referred to as "working class" or blue-collar workers) is generally associated with people with low levels of education, unskilled or semiskilled occupations, and low income. Middle-class people (often seen as "white-collar" workers) generally have more education, usually having graduated from high school or college, hold technical or mid-level managerial positions, and earn average to above average incomes. Upper-class people tend to have high education, the highest salaries, and the most prestigious occupational positions.

The whole notion of taste, as refined food sensibilities, is class-based. Members of lower classes often strive to emulate the taste and taste practices of higher classes, who in turn attempt to change their notions of taste and eating behavior to maintain the distinction between themselves and those perceived as of lower status. Thus, what, where, and when food is eaten is shaped by social class in many societies. Historically, members of the lower class have found many of the foods of the wealthy to be strange if not disgusting. (Such stereotyping, however, applies equally to both groups: while the so-called lower classes might find raw oysters disgusting, the middle or upper classes might find roast goat equally unpalatable. These kinds of tastes—or distastes—evolve over time and cultures and are not fixed.) Members of higher classes have come to identify certain foods with impoverished status. For instance, after World War II, chicken became associated with low income and was eschewed by the wealthy because of this association. Currently whole-wheat or brown bread tends to be consumed more by people of middle-or upper-class background; by contrast, bread prepared with processed wheat (white bread), which is less expensive, is more often the choice of working-class consumers. The reason for this difference is a historical reversal of fortune. The white flour was once that of the elites, who would even color it with alum. The highly refined flour was reserved for those with great status, whereas the whole-grain flours were those of the poor. Beer is the alcoholic beverage of the working class—the exception being pricey imported beers, microbrews, and gourmet beers that are popular with "yuppies"—while wine, particularly wines with a lineage, tend to be the choice of individuals of upper-middle and upper-class backgrounds.

Restaurants were once a place where only the upper class would dine, while today persons of all classes eat in restaurants. However, the choice of type of restaurant and the frequency of eating meals out varies by social class. Part of this difference is a function of income. Those with higher salaries or greater wealth can afford to eat out more frequently and to visit more expensive restaurants. Use of restaurants, however, is also a function of attitudes, which themselves vary by social class. Those in blue-collar positions are more likely than those in white-collar jobs to perceive eating out—in restaurants, that is, not fast-food establishments—as something that is done for pleasure. Those with higher incomes, university degrees, and white-collar positions seek more variety in restaurant fare. Interest in eating a variety of ethnic foods, an indication of cultural cosmopolitanism, is also more frequent among those with greater education, income, and occupational prestige.

The desire to imitate those of higher social class background is practiced by some individuals, and restaurants play a role in this phenomenon. Restaurants with expensive dishes with a cosmopolitan atmosphere are sometimes the choice of people who wish to exhibit the consumption of the upper class. At the same time, differences in consumption represent a routine form of social dominance exercised by upper-middle and upper-class members. Thus, efforts of the lower-middle class to imitate upper-class behavior are met by changing behavior among the upper class. New, more exclusive restaurants are often sought in attempts to maintain a class distinction in restaurant patronage.

Class background is also associated with the use of meals as a form of entertaining friends. As income and education rise, so does the likelihood of entertaining friends by feeding them a main meal. Those with white-collar positions are more likely to entertain friends by having them over for a main meal, though this generalization may apply more to urbanites; poor folk in the country often have big dinners, where everyone brings something potluck-style. Low-income families not only lack the money to provide such entertainment but may also inhabit housing that lacks the space to feed many people at one time. Among the very low-income, space may be so limited that the family itself cannot sit down to a meal together. Eating in the homes of kin is not a function of class, but eating with friends and coworkers is: professional and managerial classes are more likely to eat in the homes of friends than those in working-class occupations. When it comes to cooking, those with more education and income are more likely to be willing to experiment with new dishes or dishes of their own creation than are those with less income and education.

Social class background makes a difference in the food-related lifestyles practiced by many people. In addition, people's life chances are affected by their social class. The poor tend to devote high percentages of their household budgets, after paying rent, to food, yet generally have to settle for lower-quality food items and a more monotonous diet. Obesity is far more likely among persons of low income than persons in higher income groups. In more economically developed countries, the poor are more likely to experience food insecurity or food insufficiency, and in less economically developed countries, the poor are more likely to experience various nutrient deficiency diseases.

Bibliography

Bourdieu, Pierre. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Translated by Richard Nice. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1984.

Calnan, M. "Food and Health: A Comparison of Beliefs and Practices in Middle-Class and Working Class Households." In Readings in Medical Sociology, edited by S. Cunningham-Barley and N. P. McKegany, pp. 9–36. New York: Tavistock/Routledge, 1990.

Charles, N., and N. Kerr. Women, Food, and Families. Manchester, U.K.: Manchester University Press, 1988.

DeVault, M. J. Feeding the Family: The Social Organization of Caring as Gendered Work. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991.

Dubois, L., and M. Girard. "Social Position and Nutrition: A Gradient Relationship in Canada and the USA." European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 55 (2001): 366–373.

Erickson, Bonnie H. "What Is Good Taste For?" Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology 28 (1991): 255–278.

McIntosh, William A. Sociologies of Food and Nutrition. New York: Plenum, 1996.

Sobal, J. "Obesity and Socioeconomic Status: A Framework for Examining Relationships between Physical and Social Variables." Medical Anthropology 13, no. 3 (1991): 231–247.

Warde, A., and L. Martens. Eating Out: Social Differentiation,Consumption, and Pleasure. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

—Wm. Alex McIntosh; Jeffery Sobal

The hierarchical organization by which a society or community is divided into classes. The vast majority of the population of the United States considers itself as belonging to the middle class. In Marxism, class structure is organized into the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.

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Social class (or simply "class") is a set of concepts in the social sciences and political theory centered around models of social stratification in which people are grouped into a set of hierarchical social categories.^[1]

Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. However, there is not a consensus on the best definition of the term "class", and the term has different contextual meanings. In common parlance, the term "social class," is usually synonymous with "socio-economic class," defined as: "people having the same social, economic, or educational status," e.g., "the working class"; "an emerging professional class."^[2]

Contents 1 Etymology 2 Theoretical models 2.1 Marxist 2.2 Weberian 2.3 The common three-stratum model 2.3.1 Upper class 2.3.2 Middle class 2.3.3 Lower class 3 Consequences of class position 3.1 Education 3.2 Health and nutrition 3.3 Employment 3.4 Police and the courts 4 Class conflict 5 Classless societies 6 Relationship between race and class 7 See also 7.1 Class by region or historical period 8 References 9 Further reading

Etymology

The term "class" is etymologically derived from the Latin classis, which was used by census takers to categorize citizens by wealth, in order to determine military service obligations.^[3]

In the late 19th century, the term "class" began to replace hereditary classifications (such as estates, rank, and orders) as the primary means of organizing society into hierarchical divisions. This corresponded to a general decrease in significance ascribed to hereditary characteristics, and increase in the significance of wealth and income as indicators of position in the social hierarchy.^[4][5]

Theoretical models

Definitions of social classes reflect a number of sociological perspectives, informed by anthropology, economics, psychology, and sociology. The major perspectives historically have been Marxism and Functionalism. The common stratum model of class divides society into a simple hierarchy of working class, middle class and upper class. Within academia, two broad schools of definitions emerge: those aligned with 20th-century sociological stratum models of class society, and those aligned with the 19th-century historical materialist economic models of the Marxists and anarchists.^[6][7][8]

Another distinction can be drawn between analytical concepts of social class, such as the Marxist and Weberian traditions, and the more empirical traditions such as socio-economic status approach, which notes the correlation of income, education and wealth with social outcomes without necessarily implying a particular theory of social structure.^[9]

Marxist

Main article: Class in Marxist theory

"[Classes are] large groups of people differing from each other by the place they occupy in a historically determined system of social production, by their relation (in most cases fixed and formulated in law) to the means of production, by their role in the social organization of labor, and, consequently, by the dimensions of the share of social wealth of which they dispose and the mode of acquiring it."

Vladimir Lenin, A Great Beginning - June, 1919

For Marx, class has three primary facets:^[10]

1. Objective factors: A class shares a common relationship to the means of production.
2. Subjective factors: The members will necessarily have some perception ("class consciousness") of their similarity and common interest. Class consciousness is not simply an awareness of one's own class interest but is also a set of shared views regarding how society should be organized legally, culturally, socially and politically.
3. Reproduction of class relations: Class is a set of social relationships that is reproduced from one generation to the next.

In Marxist theory, the capitalist stage of production consists of two main classes: the bourgeoisie, the capitalists who own the means of production, and the much larger proletariat (or 'working class') who must sell their own labour power (See also: wage labour). This is the fundamental economic structure of work and property (See also: wage labour), a state of inequality that is normalised and reproduced through cultural ideology.

Marxists explain the history of "civilized" societies in terms of a war of classes between those who control production and those who produce the goods or services in society. In the Marxist view of capitalism, this is a conflict between capitalists (bourgeoisie) and wage-workers (the proletariat). For Marxists, class antagonism is rooted in the situation that control over social production necessarily entails control over the class which produces goods—in capitalism this is the exploitation of workers by the bourgeoisie.^[11]

Furthermore, "in countries where modern civilisation has become fully developed, a new class of petty bourgeois has been formed".^[12] "An industrial army of workmen, under the command of a capitalist, requires, like a real army, officers (managers) and sergeants (foremen, overlookers) who, while the work is being done, command in the name of the capitalist".^[13]

Marx himself argued that it was the goal of the proletariat itself to displace the capitalist system with socialism, changing the social relationships underpinning the class system and then developing into a future communist society in which: "..the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all." (Communist Manifesto) This would mark the beginning of a classless society in which human needs rather than profit would be motive for production. In a society with democratic control and production for use, there would be no class, no state and no need for money.^[14]

Weberian

Main article: Three-component theory of stratification

Max Weber formulated a three-component theory of stratification, that saw political power as an interplay between "class", "status" and "group power". Weber believed that class position was determined by a person's skills and education, rather than by their relationship to the means of production. Both Marx and Weber agreed that social stratification was undesirable, however where Marx believed that stratification would only disappear along with capitalism and private property, Weber believed that the solution lay in providing "equal opportunity" within a competitive, capitalist system.^[15][16]

Weber derived many of his key concepts on social stratification by examining the social structure of Germany. He noted that contrary to Marx's theories, stratification was based on more than simply ownership of capital. Weber examined how many members of the aristocracy lacked economic wealth yet had strong political power. Many wealthy families lacked prestige and power, for example, because they were Jewish. Weber introduced three independent factors that form his theory of stratification hierarchy; class, status, and power^[17]:

• Class: A person's economic position in a society. Weber differs from Marx in that he does not see this as the supreme factor in stratification. Weber noted how managers of corporations or industries control firms they do not own.
• Status: A person's prestige, social honor, or popularity in a society. Weber noted that political power was not rooted in capital value solely, but also in one's individual status. Poets or saints, for example, can possess immense influence on society with often little economic worth.
• Power: A person's ability to get their way despite the resistance of others. For example, individuals in state jobs, such as an employee of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or a member of the United States Congress, may hold little property or status but they still hold immense power.

The common three-stratum model

Today, concepts of social class often assume three general categories: a very wealthy and powerful upper class that owns and controls the means of production; a middle class of professional workers, small business owners, and low-level managers; and a lower class, who rely on low-paying wage jobs for their livelihood and often experience poverty.

Upper class

Members of the upper class generally wield much greater political power than members of the lower or middle class. Pictured here are U.S. President George W. Bush and World Bank President James Wolfensohn.

Main article: Upper class

See also: Elite, Aristocracy, and Oligarchy

The upper class^[18] is the social class composed of those who are wealthy, well-born, or both. They usually wield the greatest political power. In some countries, wealth alone is sufficient to allow entry into the upper class. In others, only people born into certain aristocratic bloodlines are considered members of the upper class, and those who gain great wealth through commercial activity are looked down upon as nouveau riche. The upper class is generally contained within the wealthiest 1 or 2 percent of the population. Members of the upper class are often born into it, and are distinguished by immense wealth which is passed from generation to generation in the form of estates.^[19] Sometimes members of the upper class are called "the one percent".

Middle class

Main article: Middle class

The middle class are the most contested of the three categorizations, the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the lower class and upper class.^[20] One example of the contestation of this term is that In the United States "middle class" is applied very broadly and includes people who would elsewhere be considered lower class. Middle class workers are sometimes called "white-collar workers".

Theorists such as Ralf Dahrendorf have noted the tendency toward an enlarged middle class in modern Western societies, particularly in relation to the necessity of an educated work force in technological economies.^[21] Perspectives concerning globalization and neocolonialism, such as dependency theory, suggest this is due to the shift of low-level labour to developing nations and the Third World.^[22]

Lower class

Working class people often live in decaying, crime-ridden urban areas with low-quality civil services.

Main article: Working class

Lower class (occasionally described as working class) are those employed in low-paying wage jobs with very little economic security.

The working class is sometimes separated into those who are employed but lacking financial security, and an underclass—those who are long-term unemployed and/or homeless, especially those receiving welfare from the state. The latter is analogous to the Marxist term "lumpenproletariat".^[18] Members of the working class are sometimes called blue-collar workers.

Consequences of class position

A person's socioeconomic class has wide-ranging effects. It may determine the schools they are able to attend, the jobs open to them, who they may marry, and their treatment by police and the courts.^{[citation needed]}

Education

A person's social class has a significant impact on their educational opportunities. Not only are upper-class parents able to send their children to exclusive schools that are perceived to be better, but in many places state-supported schools for children of the upper class are of a much higher quality than those the state provides for children of the lower classes.^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]} This lack of good schools is one factor that perpetuates the class divide across generations.

Health and nutrition

A person's social class has a significant impact on their physical health, their ability to receive adequate medical care and nutrition, and their life expectancy.^[29][30][31]

Lower-class people experience a wide array of health problems as a result of their economic status. They are unable to use health care as often, and when they do it is of lower quality, even though they generally tend to experience a much higher rate of health issues. Lower-class families have higher rates of infant mortality, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and disabling physical injuries. Additionally, poor people tend to work in much more hazardous conditions, yet generally have much less (if any) health insurance provided for them, as compared to middle and upper class workers.^[32]

Employment

The conditions at a person's job vary greatly depending on class. Those in the upper-middle class and middle class enjoy greater freedoms in their occupations. They are usually more respected, enjoy more diversity, and are able to exhibit some authority. Those in lower classes tend to feel more alienated and have lower work satisfaction overall. The physical conditions of the workplace differ greatly between classes. While middle-class workers may "suffer alienating conditions" or "lack of job satisfaction", blue-collar workers are more apt to suffer alienating, often routine, work with obvious physical health hazards, injury, and even death.^[33]

Police and the courts

Proletarians, and especially people with low socio-economic status, are much more likely to be beaten or detained by the police. They are additionally much less likely to receive a fair trial, and are imprisoned more often than the bourgeoisie or people with high socio-economic status.

Class conflict

This section requires expansion.

Main article: Class conflict

For Marx, the history of class society was a history of class conflict. He pointed to the successful rise of the bourgeoisie, and the necessity of revolutionary violence—a heightened form of class conflict—in securing the bourgeoisie rights that supported the capitalist economy.

Marx believed that the exploitation and poverty inherent in capitalism were a pre-existing form of class conflict. Marx believed that wage labourers would need to revolt to bring about a more equitable distribution of wealth and political power.^[34][35]

Classless societies

Main article: Classless society

This section requires expansion.

Relationship between race and class

Main article: Racial inequality

Race and other large-scale groupings can also influence class standing. The association of particular ethnic groups with class statuses is common in many societies. As a result of conquest or internal ethnic differentiation, a ruling class is often ethnically homogenous and particular races or ethnic groups in some societies are legally or customarily restricted to occupying particular class positions. Which ethnicities are considered as belonging to high or low classes varies from society to society. In modern societies strict legal links between ethnicity and class have been drawn, such as in apartheid, the caste system in Africa, and in the position of the Burakumin in Japanese society.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Caste
• Chattering classes
• Class conflict
• Class consciousness
• Classless society
• Drift Hypothesis
• Elite theory
• Elitism
• Gilbert Model

• Health and Social Class
• Mass society
• National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC)
• Passing
• Poverty
• Ranked society
• Raznochinets
• Second-class citizen

• Social exclusion
• Social mobility
• Social position
• Social status
• Social stratification

Class by region or historical period

• Class in Aztec society
• Class in the contemporary United States
• Four divisions of society
• Inca society
• Indian caste system
• Korean ruling class
• Social class in ancient Rome
• Social structure of Britain
• Social class in Italy
• Social structure of China
• Social class in New Zealand
• Poverty in the United States
• Social class in American history
• Social structure of the United States

References

1. ^ Grant, J. Andrew (2001). "class, definition of". In Jones, R.J. Barry. Routledge Encyclopedia of International Political Economy: Entries A-F. Taylor & Francis. p. 161. ISBN 9780415243506. http://books.google.com/books?id=a29qBofx8Y8C&pg=PA161. 
2. ^ Princeton University. "Social class." WordNet Search 3.1. Retrieved on: 2012-01-25.
3. ^ Brown, D.F. (2009). "Social class and Status". In Mey, Jacob. Concise Encyclopedia of Pragmatics. Elsevier. p. 952. ISBN 9780080962979. http://books.google.com/books?id=GcmXgeBE7k0C&pg=PA952. 
4. ^ Kuper, Adam, ed. (2004). "Class, Social". The social science encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 111. ISBN 9780415320962. http://books.google.com/books?id=2oES3pJufP4C&pg=PA111. 
5. ^ Penney, Robert (2003). "Class, social". In Christensen, Karen & Levinson, David. Encyclopedia of community: from the village to the virtual world, Volume 1. SAGE. p. 189. ISBN 9780761925989. http://books.google.com/books?id=t1geOjQ6R0MC&pg=PA189. 
6. ^ Parrillo, Vincent N., ed. (2008). "Class". Encyclopedia of social problems, Volume 1. SAGE. p. 131. ISBN 9781412941655. http://books.google.com/books?id=mRGr_B4Y1CEC&pg=PA131. 
7. ^ Gilbert, Dennis (1998). The American Class Structure. New York: Wadsworth Publishing. 0-534-50520-1. 
8. ^ Williams, Brian; Stacey C. Sawyer, Carl M. Wahlstrom (2005). Marriages, Families & Intimate Relationships. Boston, MA: Pearson. 0-205-36674-0. 
9. ^ John Scott, Class: critical concepts (1996) Volume 2 P. 310
10. ^ Hanagan, Michael P. (1994). "Class". In Stearns, Peter N.. Encyclopedia of social history. Taylor & Francis. p. 184. ISBN 9780815303428. http://books.google.com/books?id=kkIeyCEedrsC&pg=PA184. 
11. ^ Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels. "Manifesto of the Communist Party", Selected Works, Volume 1; London,' 1943; p. 231.
12. ^ Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels. "Manifesto of the Communist Party", Selected Works, Volume 1; London,' 1943; p. 231
13. ^ Karl Marx. Capital: An Analysis of Capitalist Production, Volume 1; Moscow; 1959; p. 332.
14. ^ Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels. "Manifesto of the Communist Party", Selected Works, Volume 1; London,' 1943; p. 232-234.
15. ^ Jones, Helen (1997). Towards a classless society?. Psychology Press. p. 4. ISBN 9780415153317. http://books.google.com/books?id=P6T5j2ywnqQC&pg=4. 
16. ^ Leander, Anna (2001). "class, Weberian approaches to". In Jones, R.J. Barry. Routledge Encyclopedia of International Political Economy: Entries A-F. Taylor & Francis. p. 227. ISBN 9780415243506. http://books.google.com/books?id=LT7r94epBz0C&pg=PA227. 
17. ^ Stark, Rodney (2007). Sociology (Tenth edition ed.). Thompson Wadsworth. 
18. ^ ^{a b} Brown, D.F. (2009). "Social class and Status". In Mey, Jacob. Concise Encyclopedia of Pragmatics. Elsevier. p. 953. ISBN 9780080962979. http://books.google.com/books?id=GcmXgeBE7k0C&pg=PA953. 
19. ^ Akhbar-Williams, Tahira (2010). "Class Structure". In Smith, Jessie C.. Encyclopedia of African American Popular Culture, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 322. ISBN 9780313357961. http://books.google.com/books?id=10rEGSIItjgC&pg=PA322. 
20. ^ Stearns, Peter N., ed. (1994). "Middle class". Encyclopedia of social history. Taylor & Francis. p. 621. ISBN 9780815303428. http://books.google.com/books?id=kkIeyCEedrsC&pg=PA621. 
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Further reading

• Archer, Louise et al. Higher Education and Social Class: Issues of Exclusion and Inclusion (RoutledgeFalmer, 2003) (ISBN 0-4152-7644-6)
• Aronowitz, Stanley, How Class Works: Power and Social Movement, Yale University Press, 2003. ISBN 0300105045
• Barbrook, Richard (2006). The Class of the New (paperback ed.). London: OpenMute. ISBN 0-9550664-7-6. http://www.theclassofthenew.net. 
• Beckert, Sven, and Julia B. Rosenbaum, eds. The American Bourgeoisie: Distinction and Identity in the Nineteenth Century (Palgrave Macmillan; 2011) 284 pages; Scholarly studies on the habits, manners, networks, institutions, and public roles of the American middle class with a focus on cities in the North.
• Bertaux, Daniel & Thomson, Paul; Pathways to Social Class: A Qualitative Approach to Social Mobility (Clarendon Press, 1997)
• Bisson, Thomas N.; Cultures of Power: Lordship, Status, and Process in Twelfth-Century Europe (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995)
• Blackledge, Paul (2011). "Why workers can change the world". Socialist Review 364 (London - A useful analysis of class generally and nature of working class more specifically). http://www.socialistreview.org.uk/article.php?articlenumber=11839. 
• Blau, Peter & Duncan Otis D.; The American Occupational Structure (1967) classic study of structure and mobility
• Brady, David "Rethinking the Sociological Measurement of Poverty" Social Forces Vol. 81 No.3, (March 2003), pp. 715–751 (abstract online in Project Muse).
• Broom, Leonard & Jones, F. Lancaster; Opportunity and Attainment in Australia (1977)
• Cohen, Lizabeth; Consumer's Republic, (Knopf, 2003) (ISBN 0-375-40750-2). (Historical analysis of the working out of class in the United States).
• Croix, Geoffrey de Ste.; "Class in Marx's Conception of History, Ancient and Modern", New Left Review, No. 146, (1984), pp. 94–111 (good study of Marx's concept).
• Dargin, Justin The Birth of Russia's Energy Class, Asia Times (2007) (good study of contemporary class formation in Russia, post communism)
• Day, Gary; Class, (Routledge, 2001) (ISBN 0-415-18222-0)
• Domhoff, G. William, Who Rules America? Power, Politics, and Social Change, Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall, 1967. (Prof. Domhoff's companion site to the book at the University of California, Santa Cruz)
• Eichar, Douglas M.; Occupation and Class Consciousness in America (Greenwood Press, 1989)
• Fantasia, Rick; Levine, Rhonda F.; McNall, Scott G., eds.; Bringing Class Back in Contemporary and Historical Perspectives (Westview Press, 1991)
• Featherman, David L. & Hauser Robert M.; Opportunity and Change (1978).
• Fotopoulos, Takis, Class Divisions Today: The Inclusive Democracy approach, Democracy & Nature, Vol. 6, No. 2, (July 2000)
• Fussell, Paul; Class (a painfully accurate guide through the American status system), (1983) (ISBN 0-345-31816-1)
• Giddens, Anthony; The Class Structure of the Advanced Societies, (London: Hutchinson, 1981).
• Giddens, Anthony & Mackenzie, Gavin (Eds.), Social Class and the Division of Labour. Essays in Honour of Ilya Neustadt (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982).
• Goldthorpe, John H. & Erikson Robert; The Constant Flux: A Study of Class Mobility in Industrial Society (1992)
• Grusky, David B. ed.; Social Stratification: Class, Race, and Gender in Sociological Perspective (2001) scholarly articles
• Hazelrigg, Lawrence E. & Lopreato, Joseph; Class, Conflict, and Mobility: Theories and Studies of Class Structure (1972).
• Hymowitz, Kay; Marriage and Caste in America: Separate and Unequal Families in a Post-Marital Age (2006) ISBN 1566637090
• Kaeble, Helmut; Social Mobility in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: Europe and America in Comparative Perspective (1985)
• Jens Hoff, "The Concept of Class and Public Employees". Acta Sociologica, vol. 28, no. 3, July 1985, pp. 207–226.
• Mahalingam, Ramaswami; "Essentialism, Culture, and Power: Representations of Social Class" Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 59, (2003), pp. 733+ on India
• Mahony, Pat & Zmroczek, Christine; Class Matters: 'Working-Class' Women's Perspectives on Social Class (Taylor & Francis, 1997)
• Manza, Jeff & Brooks, Clem; Social Cleavages and Political Change: Voter Alignments and U.S. Party Coalitions (Oxford University Press, 1999).
• Manza, Jeff; "Political Sociological Models of the U.S. New Deal" Annual Review of Sociology, (2000) pp. 297+
• Manza, Jeff; Hout, Michael & Brooks Clem; "Class Voting in Capitalist Democracies since World War II: Dealignment, Realignment, or Trendless Fluctuation?" Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 21, (1995)
• Marmot, Michael; The Status Syndrome: How Social Standing Affects Our Health and Longevity (2004)
• Marx, Karl & Engels, Frederick; The Communist Manifesto, (1848). (The key statement of class conflict as the driver of historical change).
• Merriman, John M.; Consciousness and Class Experience in Nineteenth-Century Europe (Holmes & Meier Publishers, 1979)
• Ostrander, Susan A.; Women of the Upper Class (Temple University Press, 1984).
• Owensby, Brian P.; Intimate Ironies: Modernity and the Making of Middle-Class Lives in Brazil (Stanford University, 1999).
• Pakulski, Jan & Waters, Malcolm; The Death of Class (Sage, 1996). (rejection of the relevance of class for modern societies)
• Payne, Geoff; The Social Mobility of Women: Beyond Male Mobility Models (1990)
• Savage, Mike; Class Analysis and Social Transformation (London: Open University Press, 2000).
• Sennett, Richard & Cobb, Jonathan; The Hidden Injuries of Class, (Vintage, 1972) (classic study of the subjective experience of class).
• Siegelbaum, Lewis H. & Suny, Ronald; eds.; Making Workers Soviet: Power, Class, and Identity. (Cornell University Press, 1994). Russia 1870-1940
• Wlkowitz, Daniel J.; Working with Class: Social Workers and the Politics of Middle-Class Identity (University of North Carolina Press, 1999).
• Weber, Max. "Class, Status and Party", in e.g. Gerth, Hans and C. Wright Mills, From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, (Oxford University Press, 1958). (Weber's key statement of the multiple nature of stratification).
• Weinburg, Mark; "The Social Analysis of Three Early 19th century French liberals: Say, Comte, and Dunoyer", Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 45–63, (1978).
• Wood, Ellen Meiksins; The Retreat from Class: A New 'True' Socialism, (Schocken Books, 1986) (ISBN 0-8052-7280-1) and (Verso Classics, January 1999) reprint with new introduction (ISBN 1-8598-4270-4).
• Wood, Ellen Meiksins; "Labor, the State, and Class Struggle", Monthly Review, Vol. 49, No. 3, (1997).
• Wouters, Cas.; "The Integration of Social Classes." Journal of Social History. Volume 29, Issue 1, (1995). pp 107+. (on social manners)
• Wright, Erik Olin; The Debate on Classes (Verso, 1990). (neo-Marxist)
• Wright, Erik Olin; Class Counts: Comparative Studies in Class Analysis (Cambridge University Press, 1997)
• Wright, Erik Olin ed. Approaches to Class Analysis (2005). (scholarly articles)
• Zmroczek, Christine & Mahony, Pat (Eds.), Women and Social Class: International Feminist Perspectives. (London: UCL Press 1999)

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