Assignment - Social stratification
Prabhseerat Kaur
19/SOC/35
Question - How is status different from class? Discuss using insights from the
writings of Max Weber and Karl Marx.
The concept of class and status differs in Marxian framework, which looks at it in terms of class
differences, and that being the basis of all forms of differences and inequality. Whereas the We-
berian framework takes a wider approach and goes beyond class differences (class situation), and
also takes into consideration the differences of status (status situation), honor, power. This essay
will try to cover first, Marxian understanding and then Weberian understanding and locate where
stratification exists separately and also coincide and lastly a differential comparison of the two
through the work of Reinhard Bendix.
According to Marx, class differences, class struggles is an important part of history of all sorts of
societies and accordingly societies changed and developed. And these struggles are marked by
revolution which requires a particular class to identify its interests with that of society’s, and
there would be an eventual revolution which would lead to a classless society. And this struggle
would be shown to it’s full extent in capitalist society and would eventually lead to the end of it.
Despite of the utmost importance of the idea of class for Marx, there is no systematic analysis of
the same. He talks about three classes that of wage labourers, capitalists and landowners, who
derive their source of income from labor, capital, and owned property, respectively. Marx re-
duced this down to the “two class model” consisting that of bourgeoisie and proletariat, accord-
ing to their relation to the means of production. These two classes stand in a relationship of hos-
tility. And as the gap between the two classes would widen, this would lead to eventual “immis-
erisation of the proletariat”, with increase in commodity production, profit, capital and decrease
in the welfare of labourer. While talking about other intermediary classes, that of petty bour-
geoisie, peasants, landowners, which make the class structure complicated, Marx brings in the
two class model again. Even though the term proletariat is most often applied to industrial work-
ers, can be identified in terms of its concerns and interests with that of a peasant’s, and a capital-
ist with that of a landowner. However, Marxian analysis is limited to modern capitalists and pro-
letariats and doesn’t really categorize the two (peasants and proletariat) together. Next intermedi-
ate group that Marx talked about is that of “Intelligentsia” or the ideological class, the one he
himself identified with. Marx called this group, paid workers, who worked for the interest of the
bourgeoisie. This class worked for the sustenance of the bourgeoisie, who controlled the aspira-
Prabhseerat Kaur
19/SOC/35
Question - How is status different from class? Discuss using insights from the
writings of Max Weber and Karl Marx.
The concept of class and status differs in Marxian framework, which looks at it in terms of class
differences, and that being the basis of all forms of differences and inequality. Whereas the We-
berian framework takes a wider approach and goes beyond class differences (class situation), and
also takes into consideration the differences of status (status situation), honor, power. This essay
will try to cover first, Marxian understanding and then Weberian understanding and locate where
stratification exists separately and also coincide and lastly a differential comparison of the two
through the work of Reinhard Bendix.
According to Marx, class differences, class struggles is an important part of history of all sorts of
societies and accordingly societies changed and developed. And these struggles are marked by
revolution which requires a particular class to identify its interests with that of society’s, and
there would be an eventual revolution which would lead to a classless society. And this struggle
would be shown to it’s full extent in capitalist society and would eventually lead to the end of it.
Despite of the utmost importance of the idea of class for Marx, there is no systematic analysis of
the same. He talks about three classes that of wage labourers, capitalists and landowners, who
derive their source of income from labor, capital, and owned property, respectively. Marx re-
duced this down to the “two class model” consisting that of bourgeoisie and proletariat, accord-
ing to their relation to the means of production. These two classes stand in a relationship of hos-
tility. And as the gap between the two classes would widen, this would lead to eventual “immis-
erisation of the proletariat”, with increase in commodity production, profit, capital and decrease
in the welfare of labourer. While talking about other intermediary classes, that of petty bour-
geoisie, peasants, landowners, which make the class structure complicated, Marx brings in the
two class model again. Even though the term proletariat is most often applied to industrial work-
ers, can be identified in terms of its concerns and interests with that of a peasant’s, and a capital-
ist with that of a landowner. However, Marxian analysis is limited to modern capitalists and pro-
letariats and doesn’t really categorize the two (peasants and proletariat) together. Next intermedi-
ate group that Marx talked about is that of “Intelligentsia” or the ideological class, the one he
himself identified with. Marx called this group, paid workers, who worked for the interest of the
bourgeoisie. This class worked for the sustenance of the bourgeoisie, who controlled the aspira-
