Economy and class structure

This book has grown out of our attempts to clarify a number
of theoretical issues which arose during six years' teaching
together on a second-year course in sociology at the Univer-
sity of East Anglia. Our ideas were stimulated both by the
students and colleagues who participated in teaching the
course - in particular, Melina Serafetinidis.
We find it difficult to locate the sources of our ideas, but we
are conscious that we have been influenced by writings of
Miliband, Poulantzas, Carchedi, Cliff, and Urry - although
often our conclusions diverge radically from those of these
authors.
We would like to thank Bob Blackburn, Geoff Ingham,
John Urry, Bryan Heading and Gareth Jones for reading and
making comments on earlier drafts - although, of course, we
assume full responsibility for the final product.
Our gratitude is also due to Mary Gurteen, who efficiently
undertook the bulk of the typing, and Jenny, Anne, Jan and
Gerald, who made many involuntary sacrifices during the
preparation of this book.