Abstract
After introducing the importance of stratification to sociological analysis, this chapter explores the concept of social class, and asks whether class is still a significant feature of contemporary society. You should gain a sense of the different approaches to social class, and how these build on but go beyond the classical Marxist and Weberian perspectives. You should also be able to understand the substantive issues that surround the debates over wealth and poverty in industrialised societies.
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© 1996 Tony Bilton, Kevin Bonnett, Pip Jones, David Skinner, Michelle Stanworth, Andrew Webster
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Bilton, T., Bonnett, K., Jones, P., Skinner, D., Stanworth, M., Webster, A. (1996). Understanding Social Stratification: Social Class. In: Introductory Sociology. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24712-7_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24712-7_6
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