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Wealth and class analysis: exploitation, closure and exclusion

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  • Waitkus, Nora
  • Savage, Mike
  • Toft, Maren

Abstract

Wealth inequalities are increasingly prominent in contemporary societies, yet they have not been systematically addressed by sociological class analysis. Yet, class analysis should have a lot to offer: In the literature on wealth inequality, wealth is often approached as a unidimensional distribution – a quantity one can possess more or less of, crystallized in notions of the Top 1%. In this theoretical reflection, we discuss ways in which class analysis can address the gravity of wealth inequality by returning to the origins in the thinking of Marx and Weber, where capital accumulation and property organization were given central stage. Drawing on more recent contributions from Bourdieu, and integrating insights from political economy, theories of racial capitalism and feminist perspectives, we outline ways to enrich class theory through attention to housing, finance, business, and debt. Our intervention allows class analysis to embrace accumulation, exploitation, closure and exclusion making it fit for purpose to address 21st-century social changes.

Suggested Citation

  • Waitkus, Nora & Savage, Mike & Toft, Maren, 2024. "Wealth and class analysis: exploitation, closure and exclusion," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 124635, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:124635
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/124635/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    wealth; class; theory; capitalism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • P10 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - General
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution

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