The Use of Class Concepts in Sociological Research

Concepts of social classes in present-day sociology are either so completely analytical as to be devoid of relevant empirical referents or so crudely empirical as to be lacking in theoretical significance. An analysis of specific empirical studies points to the possibility that their authors may be using, simultaneously, two implicit conceptual schemes for defining social classes- the"substantive" and the "classificatory"-without recognizing their inherent contradictions. An effort is made to clarify these conceptual schemes, to develop their methodological consequences, and to offer recommendations on the problem of the scientific use of class concepts.