Inequality Reader

David B. Grusky is professor of sociology and director of the centre for the Study of Poverty and Inequality at Stanford University. His books include Social Stratification: Class, Race, and Gender in Sociological Perspective Mobility and Inequality: Frontiers of Research in Sociology and Economics and Poverty and Inequality. Szonja Szelényi has taught at Stanford University, The University of Wisconsin, and Cornell University. She is the author of Equality by Design.

"Inequality is the central motivating concern of sociology, and there is no better guide to the stratifi cation canon than The Inequality Reader. In this second edition, Grusky and Szelenyi take us on an occasionally challenging, sometimes humorous, often provocative, and always engaging tour of the major works on social stratifi cation." -Dalton Conley, Professor of Sociology, Medicine, and Public Policy, New York University "Grusky and Szelenyi's The Inequality Reader continues to set the standard for comprehensiveness and timeliness as a resource for students of social stratifi cation." -Douglas S. Massey, Henry G. Bryant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, Princeton University "The Inequality Reader is a remarkably rich and diverse collection, suitable for undergraduates encountering sociological analysis for the first time as well as graduate students looking for a comprehensive overview of the main strands of sociological thinking and research on inequality." -Erik Olin Wright, Vilas Distinguished Professor, University Of Wisconsin--Madison, and President-Elect, American Sociological Association Praise for the First Edition: "Grusky and Szelenyi have compiled a comprehensive set of essential readings that introduce students to both classical sociological thinking and modern ideas about stratification. This is an excellent resource." -Lisa A. Keister, Professor of Sociology, Duke University "This is a beautifully designed resource for teachers and students. The Inequality Reader reveals not only the comprehensiveness and varieties of inequality, but the interconnectedness of its class-, race-, and gender-based dimensions. With superb selections and a state-of-the-art grasp of the issues, Grusky and Szelenyi show us not only the contemporary depth and breadth of injustice, exclusion, and unfreedom, but also the links between inequality's past and present forms. Highly recommended." -Howard Winant, University of California, Santa Barbara, and author, The World is a Ghetto; Race and Democracy since World War II

• - Part I: Introduction - 1 David B. Grusky The Stories About Inequality That We Love to Tell - Part II: Does Inequality Serve a Purpose? - 2 Kingsley Davis and Wilbert E. Moore Some Principles of Stratification 3 Claude S. Fischer, Michael Hout, Mart