Stratification and Power: Structures of Class, Status and Command

Thisvolumepresentsasystematicdiscussionoftheleadingtheoreticalapproachestosocialstratification.Itisbothanaccessibleoverviewandadistinctivecontributiontotheanalysisofclass,statusandpower.JohnScottarguesthatMaxWeber'sconceptualframework-reconstructedandenlarged-providesthebasisforintegratingwhathavebeenconsidereduptonowasdivergentapproachestostratificationstudies.Marxisttheoriesofclassandeconomicdivision,normativefunctionalisttheoriesofstatusandculturaldivision,andelitisttheoriesofcommandandauthoritariandivisionallfindtheirplaceintheproposedframework.Eachtheoreticalapproachisillustratedthroughempiricalinvestigationsundertakenbywritersassociatedwiththem.RecentworkbyDahrendorf,WrightandGoldthorpeisalsoexamined,anditisshownhowtheirargumentscontributetoatheoreticalsynthesisintheanalysisofstratification.StratificationandPowerwillbemuchappreciatedbystudentsandacademicsalikeinthesocialsciences.Theclarityofitsstyleandthesignificanceofitscontributionhavemadeitaleadingtextinitsfield.