Describe Erik Wright's model of the U.S. class structure based on the theory of Marx

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 assumed 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: (1) 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

of 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. (2) The managerial class—people

in this class have 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

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. Members of the managerial class occupy a contradictory class location

between the capitalist and working classes. (3) The small-business class consists of

small-business owners and craftspeople 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 starting their own business. As a result, more

people today are self-employed or own a small business than at any time in the past.

(4) 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 and plumbers?

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

U.S. employees.