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Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science

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ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2023.11.008

Weber’s Discussion of the Useful Distinction Between Class and Status

Gaicizhuo Xie

University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.

*Corresponding author: Gaicizhuo Xie

Published: December 21, 2023

Abstract

As the primary school of social stratification theory, it laid the groundwork for the development of social stratification theory. Adhering to an objective and neutral position, Weber studied social stratification within the framework of static social relations, using the market as a foundation. He proposed using wealth, prestige, and power as the multiple criteria for social stratification. Weber developed a three-tiered system of social stratification to uphold capitalist dominance and facilitate the smooth operation and balanced growth of capitalist society by addressing social problems. These items are often simplified to the synonymous criteria of wealth, prestige, and power. This idea has much broader implications. Therefore, it is essential to conduct a thorough exploration to analyze contemporary social stratification and to promote the development of the market economy and the orderly participation of citizens in political life. Overall, the Weberian distinction between class and status is extremely useful. Weber's theory complements Marx's class theory by addressing dimensions that were previously missing.

Keyword

Max Weber, Class, Status, Social Stratification

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Copyright

© 2023 by the author(s).
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) license, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not modified or adapted.
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How to cite this paper

Weber’s Discussion of the Useful Distinction Between Class and Status

How to cite this paper: Gaicizhuo Xie. (2023) Weber’s Discussion of the Useful Distinction Between Class and StatusJournal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science7(11), 2189-2193.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2023.11.008