Gordon Marshall – författare

In Repositioning Class Gordon Marshall uses the comparative study of British experiences in relation to those of the United States, Scandinavia and the former communist countries of Eastern Europe. Also examined are cases where Britain provides the exclusive focus for discussion either about class itself, or about how sociologists might most usefully pursue class analysis in the future. Specific issues include: the question of meritocracy, the relationship between class and gender, arguments about proletarianization, collective identities and the nature of the so-called underclass in advanced societies.

The book incorporates three alternative conceptions of class. Erik Olin Wright''s structural Marxist account is set alongside John Goldthorpe''s occupational class schema, and the Registrar-General''s prestige and skill-related categories. The authors use their unique data on inequality and conflict in contemporary Britain to provide, for the first time, a rigourous comparison of Marxist, sociological and official class frameworks. The book ranges widely across such topics as sectionalism in the workforce; privatism of families and individuals; fatalism; gender and class processes; sectoral production and consumption cleavages. The authors conclude that class is still crucial in structuring economic, political and social life.

The book incorporates three alternative conceptions of class. Erik Olin Wright''s structural Marxist account is set alongside John Goldthorpe''s occupational class schema, and the Registrar-General''s prestige and skill-related categories. The authors use their unique data on inequality and conflict in contemporary Britain to provide, for the first time, a rigourous comparison of Marxist, sociological and official class frameworks. The book ranges widely across such topics as sectionalism in the workforce; privatism of families and individuals; fatalism; gender and class processes; sectoral production and consumption cleavages. The authors conclude that class is still crucial in structuring economic, political and social life.