Chapter 10 The Architecture of Stratification: Social Class and Inequality
In the mid-1800s, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels rocked the world of ideas with their theory of social class. Their model classifies people as capitalists, workers, or petite bourgeoisie (primarily self-employed skilled workers and businesspeople) and notes that conflict among these groups is inevitable. An industrial revolution and two world wars later, some social scientists were looking for more modern ways to explain conflict within societies. Notably, sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf designed a new model to accommodate the realities of a more complex economic system.1 Dahrendorf based his ideas on extensive observations of society and a careful study of the theories and research of other social scientists. Dahrendorf distinguished social classes on the basis of the individual's ability to exercise authority. In contrast, Marx and Engels had classified people on the basis of their ownership of the means of production. Dahrendorf lumped together all those who exert authority over others, whether or not they own the means of production, into the "command class."2 The command class includes not only capitalist owners but all levels of managers and supervisors as well. On the other end are members of the "obey class," workers who are subject to the authority of others but exercise none themselves. Dahrendorf also identified what he called the "classless group," self-employed people who neither exercise authority nor are subject to itóroughly analogous to Marx and Engels's petite bourgeoisie. Since Dahrendorf formulated his model, other conflict theorists have come up with further refinements. However, they all share the assumption that people fall into different classes based on their ownership of the means of production and their ability to exercise authority or control. Moreover, they all share the assumption that the interests of people in these different classes are bound to conflict, creating tension and often social change. 1Dahrendorf, R. 1959. Class and class conflict in industrial society. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. 2Robinson, R. V., & Kelley, J. 1979. "Class as conceived by Marx and Dahrendorf: Effects on income inequality and politics in the United States and Great Britain." American Sociological Review, 44, 38-58. [home] David Newman and Rebecca Smith.
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