Social classes in Marxist theory
- London Routledge & Kegan Paul. 1984
- 373p.
Social Classes in Marxist Theory This is a thorough account of the major modern Marxist theoretical positions on the theory of class, including the work of Poulantzas, Carchedi and Olin Wright. It also presents a devastating critique of their attempts to differentiate social/ occupational classes according to a Marxist theoretical scheme based on the relations of production. It covers the issues that have impinged on these debates - the divorce of ownership and control, control of the enterprise, industrial democracy, patterns of investment in a detailed and empirical way which makes available much up-to- date evidence. The book also provides an account of classes in modern capitalism which is relevant and useful for the socialist project of changing the class structure. It gives an extended analysis of the economic class structure of modern British capitalism and the opportunities and problems for socialism associated with that structure. It also discusses the specifically social and political aspects of 'class' in Britain over the post war years. The final chapter focuses on class relations and politics in the period of Thatcherism, and the possibility of a revival in the fortunes of socialism.