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Discusses recent developments in sociological theories of class in light of the altered postmodern conditions of society. Original Marxist class theory is described as embracing the proposition that class is a fundamental socioeconomic phenomenon that is identifiable by statistical aggregates, is related to culture, & is an important collective actor in the economic & political fields. However, three features of the current stratification system are identified as complicating this original view: domination is no longer solely class-based; status groups form across class divisions; & race, ethnicity, & gender have emerged as autonomous social categories. This postclass society is characterized as one in which status becomes a primarily cultural phenomenon that exists as overlapping, fragmented associations that bear no single cleavage or dimension. While postclass societies are still defined by differentials in economic & political resources, it is suggested that sociologists would do well to abandon their insistence on the centrality of class in analyzing these processes. 2 Figures, 55 References. D. M. Smith

The use of the term `patriarchy', in both feminist and sociological analysis, faces problems because of the etymological roots of the term, the form of its connection to political struggles, and the ahistorical fashion in which it is typically employed. There are four principle traditions within which the terms is used: as a kinship based system of government; as generalized masculine oppression; as a mechanism in the social reproduction of capitalism; and as a sex-class system. Elements of these traditions are recombined into a quadrapartite scheme for the analysis of masculine gender-systems which distinguishes between `patriarchy' (rule by male heads of extended families) and `viriarchy' (rule by adult males); and between directly oppressive systems and systems which operate by means of social reproduction.