Contradictory Class Definitions: Petty Bourgeoisie and the "Classes" of Erik Olin Wright

The "two-class model" of capitalism widely attributed to Marx neglects his analysis of the capitalistic characteristics of the petty bourgeoisie. Erik Olin Wright exemplifies those who, by regarding petty bourgeois owners as "precapitalist," and rejecting the labor theory of value, fail to recognize the capitalist nature of the "old" middle class. This leaves Wright without the conceptual tools needed to analyze the capitalistic relations of the "newer" middle strata of salaried professionals and managers as well and leads him to adopt "classless" concepts typical of petty bourgeois ideology itself. A return to the Marxist conception of a capitalist petty bourgeoisie allows a unified analysis of the class position of both "old" and "new" middle strata.