Marx's theory of class focuses on the relations of production, involving exploitation and domination, between a class of owners of the means of production and a class of non owner workers.

Essay by biffycleptoUniversity, Bachelor's March 2003

download word file, 1 pages 4.3

Downloaded 124 times

Marx's theory of class focuses on the relations of production, involving exploitation and domination, between a class of owners of the means of production and a class of non owner workers.

The theory posits a long term trend towards increasing polarization of the two major classes and radicalisation of the working class. The theory has been adapted to take account of the growth of occupations that seem to occupy an intermediate and contradictory position between capital and labour.

According to the revised Marxist theory of class, the growth of intermediate or contradictory class positions need not count against the thesis of long term polarization of the two major classes in modern capitalism for two reasons;

capital is becoming more concentrated in large, global units, managed by professional managers on behalf of the capitalist class whilst the work process in advanced capitalist society is designed to control workers more effectively through automation, which narrows the skills of workers and reduces their autoomy, resulting in further proleterianization of formerly semi autonomous workers.

Weber's approach to the social division differed from that of Marx in that he did not assume that economic factors were the primary cause of the structure of social stratification. He favoured a multi factor theory of stratification. Prestige or status factors could also be important, as could political power factors. In other words, a hierarchical model as apposed to Marx two class model.

The Weberian theory's multi factor approach to social stratification suggst that the various factors may combine or diverge in different ways depending on particular circumstances. Unlike Marx theory, it does not predict that the social classes will develop in line with a historical trend common to all societies with the same economic mode of production.