Project

On
Concept of class
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

1. Lower Class LW

2. Middle Class MC

3. Upper Class UC

4. Working Class WC

1
 TABLE OF CONTENT

INTRODUCTION 1
REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE 3
HYPOTHESES 3
RESEARCH QUESTIONS 4
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 4
SUBSTANTIVE DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS 5
HISTORY OF CLASS SYSTEM 5
THE CLASS SYSTEM 6
MARX AND WEBER ON CLASS: A COMPARISON 7
CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS 8
TYPES OF CLASS 8
CLASS STRUGGLE 10
CLASS DISCRIMINATION 11
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS 13
BIBLIOGRAPHY 14
 CONCEPT OF CLASS

INTRODUCTION

The term "sociology" was coined in 1839 by August Comte, the father of sociology. He felt
that all societies go through three stages of development: religious, metaphysical, and
scientific. Comte maintained that for society to overcome its problems, it needed scientific
knowledge based on facts and evidence, not conjecture and superstition, which characterise
the religious and metaphysical stages of social evolution. ‘Comte regarded the science of
sociology as consisting of two branches: dynamics, or the study of the processes by which
societies change; and statics, or the study of the processes by which societies endure.’ 1 He
also saw sociologists one day building a foundation of scientific social knowledge that would
steer society in constructive directions. Sociology is the scientific study of society, including
patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and culture; in other words, sociology is the
scientific study of society and human behaviour.

Many people believe, incorrectly, that sociology is the study of the obvious. They argue that
sociology is simply the application of common sense. However, associating any science with
common sense could not be further from the truth. It is not necessarily "common" or
"reasonable" to use common sense. People require something else because common sense
does not always precisely foresee reality. Not every sociological discovery is
groundbreaking; nonetheless, many discoveries appear to be congruent with common sense.
Sociologists can determine which popular beliefs are true and which are false by
methodically testing them against facts. Sociologists employ a variety of social science study
strategies and methods to accomplish this.

Sociology is a discipline that is more than just common sense.

Sociology has been referred to as the "mother of all social sciences." It is the only science
that investigates all aspects of social life. With the increasing complexity of social life,
understanding it is becoming increasingly important for all those who deal with social

1 ‘The founders of Sociology, The Sociological Perspective’ (Cliff Notes) <https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-

guides/sociology/the-sociological-perspective/the-founders-of-sociology>

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problems. Why men behave in such and such a way is a perplexing question for social
reformers, lawyers, political leaders, and administrators alike.

Some definitions of Sociology: -

According to Max Weber: ‘Sociology is the science which attempts the interpretive
understanding of social action’.2

According to M. Ginsberg: ‘Sociology is the study of human interactions and interrelations,

their conditions and consequences’.3

SOCIETY AND SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

A society is a group of people who live in a defined community and share a common culture.
The process by which individuals and groups are ranked in a more or less perpetual hierarchy
of status is known as stratification. 'Social stratification is a horizontal division of society into
"higher" and "lower" social units,' writes Raymond W. Murray. Slavery, caste, estate, and
class are the four basic systems of stratification that have existed in human societies.

The term "social class" refers to societal divisions based on economic and social status.
People in the same class typically have comparable levels of wealth, educational attainment,
job type, and income. Class is determined by factors other than birth, such as profession,
ability, skill, education, and so on. It is open ended. A person's class can be changed and he
or she can achieve high status.

This research project will basically be dealing with the concept of class in sociology.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

BOOKS

2 Vidhya Bhushan and D. R. Sachdeva, Fundamentals of Sociology (first published 2012) 4,5.
3 Ibid.

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 1. FUNDAMENTALS OF SOCIOLOGY, by Pascual Gisbert
This book was used to understand the nature and development of class as a concept.

2. SOCIOLOGY, by Anthony Giddens

This book was referred to understand different theories of class.

JOURNAL ARTICLES

1. THE CLASSIFICATION OF SOCIAL CLASS SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH, The

British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 42, No. 1 (Mar., 1991), pp. 21-41

2. CLASSICAL SOCIOLOGY, Module: Protestant Ethic Thesis, e-PG Pathshala

This was referred to understand the theories of Karl Marx and Max Weber on Class.

3. CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS, IDEOLOGY AND CLASS STRUGGLE, e-PG

Pathshala
This article was referred to understand the concept of class struggle

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Because of the social structure formed in the current modern society, different class of people
gets affected by a social problem of discrimination and inequality, the lower-class people are
at disadvantage and not getting better opportunities

HYPOTHESES

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The issue of Class Discrimination needs more attention by the Government to outlaw
discrimination on the grounds of social class in order to increase the employment
opportunities of talented people from less wealthy families.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What is a social class?

2. What are the different types of class?

3. What is Class consciousness?

4. What is Class struggle?

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To draw a comparison between Marxian understanding of class and that of Weber.

2. To study types of class in detail.

3. To analyse class struggle in detail.

4. To understand Class Consciousness.

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SUBSTANTIVE DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

HISTORY OF CLASS SYSTEM

Till the early nineteenth century, the phrase "social class" was not extensively used. Until
then, the concept of rank (how one individual is socially compared to another) had been used
to define how societies were structured. As industrialization started to take hold in the British
textile mills in the 1770s, the concept of social class surfaced. Industrialization was the era in
America (1878–1900) when the country's economy shifted from one focused on agriculture
to one based on industry and business. Machines located in factories and powered by steam
or moving water rather than human or animal power were used to manufacture and sell
goods. Previously, artisans made goods one at a time in their residential shops.
Simultaneously, cross-country transportation in the form of expanding rapidly railroad
systems was critical to the expansion of industrialization in US in the late nineteenth century.
Products could be transported in huge volumes at a low cost.4

With the rise of capitalism and industrialization, a new group emerged: the urban (city)
working class, who relied on the wages paid by wealthy factory owners known as
industrialists. Workers' and industrialists' lifestyles differed markedly, with owners living in
spacious huge houses on country estates and workers living in crowded city residential areas
near factories. By the late nineteenth century, social classes had formed, with the upper class
consisting of industrialists and financiers, and the working class consisting of wage-earning
labourers. A third class emerged by the mid-twentieth century. The middle class was made up
of business executives and other professionals.

Prior to the seventeenth century, Europe had a feudal system in which peasants, or farmers,
worked for large landowners, or lords. By the nineteenth century, the growth of industry and
related capitalist economic systems had resulted in the emergence of wage earners working
for wealthy commercial and industrial capitalists (those who invest funds into private
businesses seeking profits). The peasantry was transformed into a labouring class. The upper
class controlled the capital and the factories, while the working class relied on the wages paid

4 ‘Social Class Prejudice’ (Encyclopedia.com, 8 January 2019) <https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-

sciences/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/social-class-prejudice> accessed 2 november 2021

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by the new businesses. The upper class made the majority of their money through
investments such as real estate and business growth. This urban working class of labourers
expanded quickly in cities where newly formed factories were concentrated into industrial
centres influenced by efficient transportation networks, such as roads and railroads, and
energy sources to power the factories, such as hydropower from river dams.

As industrialization and capitalist economies spread across the Western world of Britain,
Europe, and the US in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, societies underwent
significant changes. Industrialization resulted in an unequal distribution of power and wealth,
which moulded life opportunities and prejudices. Prospects for higher education,
occupational advancement, and financial advancement were frequently restricted to which
class a person belonged. Moving up from one social class to another was still possible, but
only with great individual effort, often aided by some good fortune.5

THE CLASS SYSTEM

The class system is a widespread concept that denotes a category or group of people who
have a definite status in society that determines their relationship to other groups indefinitely.
The social classes are unofficial groups; they are open rather than closed. Their foundation is
undeniably economic, but they are more than just economic groups.

A social class is essentially a group of people who have the same social status. Status is
related to class. As people do different things, engage in different activities, and pursue
different professions, different statuses emerge in a society. In the case of a class system,
status is earned rather than bestowed. Birth is not a set criterion of social standing. An
individual's achievements largely determine his or her status. Class is a nearly universal
occurrence. It exists in all modern complex societies around the world. Each social class has
its own social standing. Prestige is linked to status. The degree of prestige attached to the
status determines the class's relative position in the social structure.

5 ‘Social Class Prejudice’ (Encyclopedia.com, 8 January 2019) <https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-

sciences/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/social-class-prejudice> accessed 2 november 2021

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 MARX AND WEBER ON CLASS: A COMPARISON

To begin, Marx identified class in the production relationships that exist in a production
system, emphasising that a class divide exists between those who own means of production,
capital, and those who do not. As a result, a class is any group of people who all play the
same role in the production process. Weber, on the other hand, believes that class is a market
reality and that class relationships exist between employers and employees, managers and
workers, rather than between the owner or possessor of labour power. Class situation
indicates a market scenario, and so it refers to the normal chance of acquiring things,
achieving a position in life, and discovering inner satisfactions, which is derived from relative
control over assets and abilities, as well as income-producing uses within a given economic
order. The market situation of any object is defined as all the options for trading it for money
known to participants in exchange relationships and aiding their orientation in the
competitive pricing fight. That is, people who share the same market or class condition are
subject to similar economic constraints, which usually determine both their material standards
of living and the kind of personal life experiences they can have. A class is a group of people
who all belong to the same social group. In these terms, people who do not own property but
can only sell services on the market are classified based on the services they provide.
Similarly, property owners are classified based on the type of property they hold and how
they use it to achieve economic goals. As a result, Weber agrees with Marx that the most
significant basis of class separation in a competitive market is ownership vs. non-ownership
of property.

Class, according to Weber, is a modern phenomenon that has arisen as a result of the advent
of the market economy/market capitalism. Prior to market capitalism, devotion to a group
was based solely on status, which is based on the distribution of honour. 6(W.G. Runciman,
1978).

6 W.G. Runciman, (1978).

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 CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS

Weber's idea of class, which was significantly influenced by Marx, did place some emphasis
on class consciousness, which was fundamental in Marxian theory. According to Marx, a
class can realise its interests once it becomes aware of itself as a group. On the other hand,
Weber believed that class consciousness was not essential to a group's existence as a class.
Instead, he defines "status" as a social position determined by societal estimation of "honour"
rather than economic power, and it is this category that appears to be class-conscious. In
contrast to class, status is defined by a strict separation from the economic order, i.e., the
market sphere. Whereas a class situation is defined by life chances and patterns of acquisition
and income, a status group is simply a social grouping outside of the market defined by
consumption patterns, the pursuit of lifestyles, and taste habits. The status situation is
concerned with the specific choices and lifestyle choices that individuals and groups make in
surrounding themselves with furniture, cars, and so on, as well as the status qualifications that
are made in selecting types of entertainment and leisure activities in which they may become
involved (Bourdieu, 1984). Consumption is not solely an individual issue but also has social
implications. Consumption contains an element of selection, and this criterion then
preconditions the selection of a group's lifestyle.

TYPES OF CLASS

Karl Marx's conflict theory is based on the idea that there are only two classes of people in
modern society: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The Bourgeoisie owns the means of
production: the factories, businesses, and machinery required to create wealth. The workers
are known as the Proletariat.

Sociologists generally agree that there are four types of social class:7

1. The Upper Class

7 ‘Types of Social Classes of People’ (Cliff Notes) <https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/sociology/social-

and-global-stratification/types-of-social-classes-of-people> accessed 4 November 2021

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2. The Middle Class

3. The working Class

4. The Lower Class

1. The Upper Class

This class is split into two sections: lower-upper and upper-upper. Those with ‘new
money,’ or money generated from investments, commercial initiatives, and so on,
belong to the lower upper class. The upper-upper class consists of aristocratic and
"high society" households who have "old money" and have been wealthy for
generations. These exceedingly affluent people subsist solely on the proceeds of their
inherited wealth. The upper-upper class is considered more prestigious than the lower
upper class.
Both groups of the UC are extremely wealthy, regardless of where their money
originates from. Both groups have more money than they could possibly spend,
leaving them with plenty of free time to pursue a variety of activities. They live in
posh districts, attend pricey social groups, and send their children to the best schools.
As can be imagined, they have significant influence and power on a national and
worldwide scale.

2. The Middle Class

The "sandwich" class is the MC. These white-collar employees earn more than those
below them on the ‘social ladder,’ but less than those above. They are divided into
two levels based on wealth, education, and prestige. Managers, small company
owners, teachers, and secretaries are examples of persons in the lower middle class
who are less educated and have lower earnings. Doctors, lawyers, stockbrokers, and
CEOs are common members of the upper middle class, as are highly educated
business and professional professionals with high earnings.

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 3. The Working Class

The working class consists of persons with little or no education who work in ‘manual
labour’ with little or no prestige. Dishwashers, cashiers, maids, and servers are
common examples of unskilled workers in the class that are underpaid and have few
opportunities for growth. They are frequently referred to as the working poor. Skilled
workers in this sector, such as carpenters, plumbers, and electricians, are commonly
referred to as blue collar workers. They may earn more than middle-class workers—
secretaries, teachers, and computer technicians—but their professions are frequently
more physically demanding, and in some circumstances downright dangerous.

4. The Lower Class

Poverty, homelessness, and unemployment characterise the lower class. People in this
class, the majority of whom have not completed high school, face a shortage of
medical care, suitable shelter and food, adequate clothing, safety, and vocational
training. The media frequently stigmatises the lower class as ‘the underclass,’
incorrectly portraying impoverished people as welfare mothers who abuse the system
by having more and more children, welfare fathers who can work but do not, drug
addicts, criminals, and societal ‘trash.’

CLASS STRUGGLE

Unlike the French historians, Marx emphasised class conflict as a central feature of social
evolution. Class struggle, according to Marx, expresses the dialectical nature of history. The
class struggle becomes more acute as capitalism develops. In the capitalist system, two basic
classes oppose each other: the owners of the means of production, known as the bourgeoisie,
and the workers, known as the proletariat. "The bourgeoisie breeds its own gravediggers. The

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fall of the bourgeoisie and the triumph of the proletariat are both unavoidable." 8 A revolution
will allow them to proceed to a radical transformation of their situation. This revolution will
pave the way for the establishment of communism and the restoration of liberty's reign.
Instead of the old bourgeois society with its classes and class factionalism, there will be an
organisation in which the free development each one's is a prerequisite for the free
development of all. But, according to Marx, there are two perspectives on revolution. One is
that of a final conflagration, "a hostile suppression of the old conditions of production,"
which happens when the bourgeoisie-proletariat conflict has reached its apex. In Die heilige
Familie, this concept is expressed in a way that is inspired by Hegel's dialectic of the master
and the slave (1845;).9 The other view is of a permanent revolution incorporating a
provisional alliance of the proletariat and the petty bourgeoisie resisting against a capitalist
system which is only superficially united. And once coalition has won a majority, an informal
proletarian authority emerges alongside the revolutionary bourgeois leadership. Its purpose is
to educate the proletariat in politics and revolution, gradually ensuring the transmission of
legal power from the revolutionary bourgeoisie to the revolutionary proletariat.

The manifestations of class conflict are numerous and diverse. They range from covert
manipulation to open conflict; from direct confrontation between two classes engaging in an
exploitation or domination relationship to complicated alliance building involving three or
more classes. 23 The parties' interests may be diametrically opposed or, in some ways,
complementary. The site of class conflict can be a firm, a sector of the economy, or the
political system; the stakes can range from pay hikes to the establishment of a completely
new set of production relations.10

CLASS DISCRIMINATION

Class structures existed in pre-agricultural societies in a rather simpler form, but they evolved
into a more complex and established structure following the formation of permanent
agriculture-based civilizations with a food surplus. Classism became prevalent in the 18th

8 Henry Chambre, ‘Marxism’, (Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Mar 2020)

<https://www.britannica.com/topic/Marxism> accessed 5 November 2021.
9 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Holy Family (first published in 1844 in Frankfurt-on-Main).
10 Jon Elster, An introduction to Karl Marx, (first published in 1986, Cambridge University Press 2012) P.134

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century.11 Segregation into classes was accomplished through the use of observable
characteristics (such as race or profession) that were assigned varying status and privileges.
Merchant, serf, peasant, warrior, priestly, and noble classes could all be found in feudal
classification systems. In Europe, the merchant class outranked the peasantry, but in Japan,
merchants were openly subordinate to peasants during the Tokugawa Shogunate. Modern
classism, with its less rigid class systems, is more difficult to detect. According to
psychologist Thomas Fuller-Rowell in a professional association posting, ‘experiences of
class discrimination is often subtle rather than blatant, and the exact reason for unfair
treatment is often not clear to the victim.’

People begin to categorise their personal experiences, such as information about the people
they meet and learn about, between the ages of three and five. In the U.S., for instance, some
of the first categories of people that children learn involve skin colour and gender. Prejudices
against these groups of people may develop quickly as a result of what children learn from
their parents, friends, and others they meet at places like church, school, and day care. It is
not till a child is older that he starts to differentiate between people based on their personal
wealth and social standing in the community. However, as Gordon W. Allport described in
his classic book, The Nature of Prejudice12, prejudices based on these social categories are
likely to be an important part of the person's beliefs and behaviour for the rest of his life.

Inequalities and biases among members of different groups, such as between executive
corporate officers and wage earners in factories, are typical of class differences. The social
class into which an individual is born has a significant influence on his or her life prospects in
education and employment; the higher one's social status, the better his or her opportunities
for a good education and constructive career.

For decades, class has been a central theme in political debate and campaigning. However,
there has been a growing backlash against class as a concept and class inequalities as genuine
social issues. Politicians on both sides of the political aisle claim that the concept of class is
becoming largely obsolete. It is frequently asserted that one of the consequences of
globalisation has been a reduction in class inequality. Class differences are becoming less
relevant in a globalised world where everyone has access to the same consumer goods, with
the majority of people placed in the middle of the economic stratification.13
11 Serinity Young, Encyclopedia of Women and World Religion (first published in 1998 in Macmillan) p. 181.
12 Gordon W. Allport, The Nature of Prejudice, (Addisson Wesley Publishing Company 1949)
13 Edger Klusener, ‘The problem of class in the age of globalisation’ (Global Social Challenges, 30 April
2018) <https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/global-social-challenges/2018/04/30/the-problem-of-class-in-the-age-of-

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According to statistics, globalisation has actually increased the incomes of the richest sectors
of the population, widening the disparity of wealth.14 A global middle class has emerged;
however, this increase is not accompanied by a marked decline or stagnation in the income of
the super-rich, but rather by a similar level of growth. We are no longer all middle-class;
class hierarchy and inequality still exist in modern society.

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

It is very clear that class discrimination still exists in the society. Because of the social
structure formed in our society, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, this
is further enhancing the inequalities and differences present among different classes.

Given the critical role that public policies and services play in assisting individuals to
maximise their abilities, we will consider legislating to make it clear that addressing
socioeconomic drawback and closing gaps in outcomes for individuals from diverse
backgrounds is a vital principle of key public services.

The long-term aims must be clear that the govt. should prepare the people of the country to
seize new possibilities in the global economy and enable every individual, regardless of
background, to realise their full potential.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Chambre H., Marxism (Encyclopedia Britannica 2020)

globalisation/> accessed 3 November 2021

14 Ibid.

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2. Engels F. and Marx K., The Holy Family (Frankfurt-on-Main 1844)

3. Elster J., An introduction to Karl Marx (Cambridge University Press 2012)

4. Young S., Encyclopedia of Women and World Religion (Macmillan 1998)

5. Allport G., The Nature of Prejudice (Addisson Wesley Publishing Company 1949)

6. Klusener E., The problem of class in the age of globalisation (Global Social
Challenges 2018)

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