Changes

==Social classes==

==Social classes==

'''Social classes''' are [[economic]] or [[cultural]] arrangements of [[groups]] in [[society]]. Class is an essential object of [[analysis]] for [[sociologists]], [[political scientists]], economists, [[anthropologists]] and social historians. In the [[social sciences]], social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'. In the modern [[Western]] [[context]], stratification typically comprises [[three]] layers: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_class upper class], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_class middle class], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_class lower class]. Each class may be further subdivided into smaller classes (e.g. occupational).

'''Social classes''' are [[economic]] or [[cultural]] arrangements of [[groups]] in [[society]]. Class is an essential object of [[analysis]] for [[sociologists]], [[political scientists]], economists, [[anthropologists]] and social historians. In the [[social sciences]], social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'. In the modern [[Western]] [[context]], stratification typically comprises [[three]] layers: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_class upper class], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_class middle class], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_class lower class]. Each class may be further subdivided into smaller classes (e.g. occupational).

 

The most basic class distinction is between the powerful and the powerless. Social classes with a great deal of [[power]] are usually viewed as "the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite elites]" within their own [[societies]]. Various [[social]] and [[political]] theories propose that social classes with greater [[power]] attempt to cement their own ranking above the lower classes in the [[hierarchy]] to the detriment of the [[society]] overall. By [[contrast]], [[conservatives]] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_functionalism structural functionalists] have presented class [[difference]] as intrinsic to the [[structure]] of any [[society]] and to that extent ineradicable.

The most basic class distinction is between the powerful and the powerless. Social classes with a great deal of [[power]] are usually viewed as "the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite elites]" within their own [[societies]]. Various [[social]] and [[political]] theories propose that social classes with greater [[power]] attempt to cement their own ranking above the lower classes in the [[hierarchy]] to the detriment of the [[society]] overall. By [[contrast]], [[conservatives]] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_functionalism structural functionalists] have presented class [[difference]] as intrinsic to the [[structure]] of any [[society]] and to that extent ineradicable.

[[Theorists]] such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralf_Dahrendorf Ralf Dahrendorf] have noted the [[tendency]] toward an enlarged [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_class middle class] in modern [[Western]] societies, particularly in relation to the [[necessity]] of an educated [[work]] force in [[technological]] economies. [[Perspectives]] concerning globalization and neocolonialism, such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependency_theory dependency theory], suggest this owes to the shift of low-level labourers to developing nations and the Third World. Developed nations have thereby become less directly active in primary industry (e.g. basic [[manufacturing]], [[agriculture]], forestry, mining, etc.) and increasingly involved with "[[virtual]]" [[goods]] and [[services]]. The [[national]] [[concept]] of "social class" has therefore become increasingly [[complex]] and [[confused]].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_class]

[[Theorists]] such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralf_Dahrendorf Ralf Dahrendorf] have noted the [[tendency]] toward an enlarged [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_class middle class] in modern [[Western]] societies, particularly in relation to the [[necessity]] of an educated [[work]] force in [[technological]] economies. [[Perspectives]] concerning globalization and neocolonialism, such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependency_theory dependency theory], suggest this owes to the shift of low-level labourers to developing nations and the Third World. Developed nations have thereby become less directly active in primary industry (e.g. basic [[manufacturing]], [[agriculture]], forestry, mining, etc.) and increasingly involved with "[[virtual]]" [[goods]] and [[services]]. The [[national]] [[concept]] of "social class" has therefore become increasingly [[complex]] and [[confused]].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_class]

 

[[Category: Sociology]]

[[Category: Sociology]]

[[Category: General Reference]]

[[Category: General Reference]]