This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Wysong, E. Articles by Perrucci, R. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Organizations, Resources, and Class Analysis: The Distributional Model and the US Class Structure

) Indiana University Kokomo, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2300 South Washington Street, Kokomo, IN, 46902. USA, ewysong{at}iuk.edu

Robert Perrucci

) Purdue University, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, 700 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907-2059. USA, perruccir{at}purdue.edu

This article presents selected features of a theoretical schema we term the distributional model of class analysis which views large organizations, organizationally-based resources, and distributional processes as central to the US class structure. We first review what we term production models of class analysis and illustrate how some features of these models may be linked to insights from studies of class involving large organizations and distributional processes. Building on this foundation, we introduce the main ideas of our model and focus on two central features: generative capital and the distributive order . We identify four forms of generative capital as the basis of class membership: consumption, investment, credentialed skill, and social. Classes are viewed as consisting of individuals and families who possess, over time, similar levels of these resources. The class structure is illustrated with a figure divided into the privileged (top 20 percent) and new working classes (bottom 80 percent) which are posited as having oppositional class interests. We then identify four elements of the distributive order and discuss how each influences the distribution of generative capital forms to individuals and families. We conclude with a discussion of the merits of our model and with illustrations of new lines of inquiry in class analysis the model could stimulate.

Key Words: Organizational resources • distributional model • generative capital • distributive order • double-diamond class structure • privileged class • new working class.

Critical Sociology, Vol. 33, No. 1-2, 211-246 (2007)
DOI: 10.1163/156916307X168647


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?