What was the measurement of social class until 1998 and why was it replaced (2 reasons)?
What was the measurement of social class until 1998 and why was it replaced (2 reasons)?
Society is stratified into social classes on the basis of wealth, income, educational attainment, and occupation.
The precise measurements of what determines social class in society have varied over time. Karl Marx thought "class" was defined by one's relationship to the means of production . His understanding of classes in modern capitalist society is that the proletariat work but do not own the means of production, and the bourgeoisie, those who invest and live off the surplus generated by the proletariat's operation of the means of production, do not work at all. This contrasts with the view of the sociologist Max Weber, who argued "class" is determined by economic position, in contrast to "social status" or "Stand" which is determined by social prestige rather than simply just relations of production.
In the late 18th century, the term "class" began to replace classifications such as estates,rank and orders as the primary means of organising society into hierarchical divisions. This corresponded to a general decrease in significance ascribed to hereditary characteristics and increase in the significance of wealth and income as indicators of position in the social hierarchy.
The major perspectives historically have been Marxism and structural functionalism. The common stratum model of class divides society into a simple hierarchy of working class ,middle class and upper class.
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