Weberian theory

• Weber 


  Saw inequalities in society as based on the struggle between different groups to secure resources such as wealth, but argued that status & power were also resources that could be unequally distributed.Sceptical as to whether a revolution resulting in the overthrow of capitalism would occur & suggested that communism might end up being just as oppressive as capitalism.
• Weber - stratification


  Suggested there were 3 dimensions to social stratification - social class, status & party
• Weber - social class


  Defined a social class as a group who share a similar market situation - members of a social class receive similar economic rewards. Members of a social class also share similar life chances.Agreed there was a basic economic division between the property owners & those who sold their labour for wages; argued there was a further division within each of these two groups, eg. owners of big businesses can potentially earn bigger profits than small businesses.
• Weber - social class

  Suggested that in capitalist societies there are 4 main classes:  The propertied upper class The property-les white-collar workers The petty bourgeoisie The manual working class
• The propertied upper class


   The wealthy owner of big businesses.
•  The property-les white-collar workers

   Have a better market situation than manual workers because of their skills & educational qualification & thus they form a middle class.
• The petty bourgeoisie 


  Owners of small businesses. Weber didn't see this class as disappearing/merging into the working class.
• The manual working class

  Has the poorest market situation as they possess neither wealth nor valuable educational qualifications that could be used to improve their market situation.
• Weber - Status


  Suggested that in some circumstances people with a common status situation may form a stronger group identity.Status refers to the distribution of social honour - how much respect a person receives from others & whether they are seen as superior or inferior to others.May be linked to a person's economic or class position but may also derive from other things, eg. ethnicity or lifestyle.
• Weber (Weberian theory) - Status

  Argued that while social class may be relatively unimportant for many people as a source of identity, individuals are usually very aware of their status situation & tend to identify with others of a similar status.
• Weber - Status


  In capitalist societies class & status are closely linked as wealth & income are major sources of status, within social class status distinctions may be important. Eg, in 19th-century British society, there was a divide between the landed aristocracy & the nouveaux riches (those who had recently made their fortunes).
• Weber - Party


  Defined parties as groups who were concerned with exercising power or influencing decision-making.Broader than conventional political parties, might include groups such as trade unions or pressure groups, eg. Greenpeace.Some parties are linked to class interests, eg. many trade unions represent groups within the working class.However, pressure groups often draw their members from all social classes.Some parties may also represent specific status groups, eg. Stonewall campaigns for the rights of LGBTQ people.
• Weber points out that people may come together and identify with others not just on the basis of economic interests but also because of a shared status position or shared political groups
• Main criticism of Weber comes from Marxists, who argue that focusing on multiple social classes and different dimensions of inequality obscures the fundamental