Class Analysis: Back to the Future

Debates over the Weberian programme for class analysis have involved a number of unresolved theoretical problems. It is argued that these problems can be resolved only if the theoretical foundations of the programme are clarified. In particular, the Weberian distinction between `class situation' and `social class', along with the distinction between `class' and `status', must be used to resolve the questions of the demographic formation of social classes, the individual and the family household as units of analysis, and the relationship between gender and class.