Foundations of a neo-Marxist class analysis

In: Sociolohija: teorija, metody, marketynh, Heft 1, S. 9-31

Abstract

The author lays out the distinctive features of a neo-Marxist class approach used in present-day sociology. First, he clarifies what exactly constitutes the fundamental point of class analysis within the Marxist framework and what it tries to accomplish. This work also provides a description of similarities and differences between the Weberian and Marxist traditions with regard to the conceptual components and pivotal explanatory ambitions. The distinctive hallmark of the Marxian approach is that it defines the concept of social class in terms of exploitation. In Wright's view, the theoretical pay-off of elaborating the Marxian-inspired conception of class, which is based on social relations of production on the one hand and exploitation and domination on the other, is that this conception infuses class analysis with moral critique. Such an analysis can function not simply as part of a scientific theory of interests and conflicts, but also as a constituent of an emancipatory theory offering alternatives to capitalism on the basis of social justice.