Discuss sociologist Erik Wright's Marxian Model of the U.S. class structure

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Sociologist Erik Wright outlined four criteria for placement in the class structure: (1)
ownership of the means of production, (2) purchase of the labor of others (employing
others), (3) control of the labor of others (supervising others on the job), and (4) sale
of one's own labor (being employed by someone else). Wright assumes that these
criteria can be used to determine the class placement of all workers, regardless of
race/ethnicity in a capitalist society.
Wright identified four classes. The capitalist class holds most of the wealth and power
in society through ownership of capital—banks, corporations, factories, etc. The
"ruling elites," or "ruling class," within this category hold political power and are often
elected or appointed to influential political positions. The capitalist class is composed
of individuals who have inherited fortunes, own major corporations, or are top
corporate executives with extensive stock holdings or control of company
investments. The major sources of income for the capitalist class are profits, interest,
and very high salaries. Members of this class make important decisions about the
workplace, including which products and services to make available to consumers and
how many workers to hire or fire.
The managerial class has substantial control over the means of production and over
workers. However, these upper-level managers, supervisors, and professionals
typically do not participate in key corporate decisions such as how to invest profits.
Top professionals such as physicians, attorneys, etc. may control the structure of
their own work; however, they typically do not own the means of production and may
not have supervisory authority over more than a few people. The small-business class
consists of small-business owners and crafts people that may hire a small number of
employees but largely do their own work. It is in the small-business class that we find
many people's hopes of achieving the American Dream. Recent economic trends,
including corporate downsizing, telecommuting, and the movement of jobs to other
countries, have encouraged more people to think about being self-employed. The
working class is made up of a number of subgroups, one of which is blue-collar
workers, some of whom are highly skilled and well paid, and others of whom are
unskilled and poorly paid. Skilled blue-collar workers include electricians, plumbers,
etc.; unskilled blue-collar workers include janitors and gardeners. White-collar
workers are another subgroup of the working class; they include secretaries, other
clerical workers, and sales workers. These workers are at the bottom of the class
structure in terms of domination and control in the workplace. The working class
contains about half of all employees in the United States.