Classes, Power and Conflict

In recent years a remarkable range of new work has been produced dealing with class inequalities, the division of labor, and the state. In these writings scholars previously working in isolation from one another in sociology, economics, political science, and history have found common ground. Much of this work has been influenced by Marxist theory, but at the same time it has involved critiques of established Marxist views, and incorporated ideas drawn from other sources. These developments have until now not been reflected in existing course texts which are often diffusely concerned with “social stratification” and lack reference to contemporary theory.

Classes, Power, and Conflict breaks new ground in providing a comprehensive introduction to current debates and contemporary research. In also connects these to the classical sources, concentrating particularly on Marx, Lenin and Weber. The book therefore offers a comprehensive coverage of materials for students who have little or no prior acquaintance with the field. Each section of the book contains a substantial introduction, explaining and expanding on the themes of the selections contained within that section. Classes, Power, and Conflict can be expected to become the standard text for courses in sociology and political science.

Preface

I. Classical Views
Introduction
1. Karl Marx:
Selections from The Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts,
The German Ideology, The Poverty of Philosophy, The
Manifesto of the Communist Party, The Eighteenth Brumaire of
Louis Bonaparte, Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of
Political Economy, 'Value, Price, and Profit', and Capital,
vols. 1 and 3 
2. V. I. Lenin:
Selections from The Development of Capitalism in Russia,
What Is to Be Done?, The State and Revolution, and
A Great Beginning
3. Max Weber:
Selections from Economy and Society, vols. 1 and 2, and
General Economic History
Selective Further Reading

II. Contemporary Theories of Class and Class Conflict
Introduction
4. Nicos Poulantzas:
On Social Classes
5. Erik Olin Wright:
Class Boundaries and Contradictory Class Locations
6. R. W. Connell:
A Critique of the Althusserian Approach to Class
7. Harry Braverman:
Capitalism and the Division of Labour
8. Anthony Giddens:
Class Structuration and Class Consciousness
9. Frank Parkin:
Social Closure and Class Formation
Selective Further Reading

III. Classes, Elites, and the State
Introduction
10. Maurice Zeitlin:
Corporate Ownership and Control: The Large
Corporation and the Capitalist Class
11. Goran Therborn:
What Does the Ruling Class Do When it Rules?
12. Claus Offe and Volker Ronge:
Theses on the Theory of the State
13. Boris Frankel:
On the State of the State: Marxist Theories of the
State After Leninism
Selective Further Reading

IV. Technology, Conflict, and the Labour Market
Introduction
14. Stephen A. Marglin:
What Do the Bosses Do? The Origins and Functions of
Hierarchy in Capitalist Production
15. E. P. Thompson:
Time, Work-Discipline, and Industrial Capitalism
16. David Stark:
Class Struggle and the Transformation of the Labour
Process: A Relational Approach
17. Jil!Rubery:
Structured Labour Markets, Worker Organisation,
and Low Pay
Selective Further Reading

V. Class Consciousness and Ideology
Introduction
18. David Lockwood:
Sources of Variation in Working-Class Images of Society
19. Michael Mann:
The Social Cohesion of Liberal Democracy
20. Nicholas Abercrombie and Bryan S. Turner:
The Dominant Ideology Thesis
Selective Further Reading

VI. Capitalism, Gender and Patriarchy
Introduction
21. Elizabeth Garnsey:
Women's Work and Theories of Class and Stratification
22. Heidi Hartmann:
Capitalism, Patriarchy, and Job Segregation by Sex
23. Jane Humphries:
Class Struggle and the Persistence of the
Working-Class Family
Selective Further Reading

VII. Class, Race and the City
Introduction
24. Robert Blauner:
Colonised and Immigrant Minorities
25. Erik Olin Wright:
Race, Class, and Income Inequality
26. David Harvey:
Labour, Capital, and Class Struggle Around the Built
Environment in Advanced Capitalist Societies
Selective Further Reading

VIII. Classes in Eastern Europe
Introduction
27. Frank Parkin:
System Contradiction and Political Transformation
28. Alec Nove:
Is There a Ruling Class in the USSR?
29. Murray Yanowitch:
Work Hierarchy and Managernent "Participation" in the
Soviet Union
30. Elizabeth Garnsey:
Growth Strategy, Competing Interests, and the Soviet
Occupational System

Selective Further Reading

Acknowledgements