The Concept of Class

An Historical Introduction

By: Peter Calvert

Write A Review

eText | 1 April 2025 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Format
ePUB

eText

$187.00

or 4 interest-free payments of $46.75 with

Instant online reading in your Booktopia eTextbook Library *

Why choose an eTextbook?

Instant Access *

Purchase and read your book immediately

Read Aloud

Listen and follow along as Bookshelf reads to you

Study Tools

Built-in study tools like highlights and more

* eTextbooks are not downloadable to your eReader or an app and can be accessed via web browsers only. You must be connected to the internet and have no technical issues with your device or browser that could prevent the eTextbook from operating.

Originally published in 1982, The Concept of Class provides a concise and stimulating guide to the historical development of the concept of 'class' and the different ways in which it has been applied in social and political theory. The author begins by determining where and how the word acquired its political sense, and after a short re-examination of its classical background, moves on to consider Marx's reformulation of the concept and his proposals for making it a fundamental term in the study of society. He traces the different strands of Marxist and non-Marxist use of the term right up to the twentieth century, considers the confusion of ideas that had resulted at the time, and analyses the utility of 'class' in assessing the nature of contemporary socialist states and post-industrial capitalist societies.

In conclusion, Dr Calvert suggests that class is an 'essentially contested concept' - that is, a concept on which agreement is by its nature impossible. Today it can be read in its historical context.