The book incorporates three alternative conceptions of class. Erik Olin Wright's structural Marxist account is set alongside John Goldthorpe's occupational class schema, and the Registrar-General's prestige and skill-related categories. The authors use their unique data on inequality and conflict in contemporary Britain to provide, for the first time, a rigourous comparison of Marxist, sociological and official class frameworks. The book ranges widely across such topics as sectionalism in the workforce; privatism of families and individuals; fatalism; gender and class processes; sectoral production and consumption cleavages. The authors conclude that class is still crucial in structuring economic, political and social life.

Review of the hardback edition: 'There are some very thought provoking findings here. While ideologues of neither thge left nor the right will discover much ammunition form their causes, those who expect sociologists to give us an objective account of the structure of our society and how it is changing will find this essential and very rewarding reading. The publication of this book, by any standards, represents a major landmark in the development of British social research. - Times Higher Education Supplement ..."It is a modern scholarly monogragh, sharply focused on issues of importance, technically competent, clear and well written. This is the first paperback edition of a book widely acclaimed upon first publication as a major contribution to the study of contemporary British class structure. The book incorporates three alternative conceptions of class. Erik Olin Wright's structural Marxist account is set alongside John Goldthorpe's occupational class schema, and the Registrar-General's prestige and skill-related categories. The authors use their unique data on inequality and conflict in contemporary Britain to provide, for the first time, a rigourous comparison of Marxist, sociological and official class frameworks. The book ranges widely across such topics as sectionalism in the workforce; privatism of families and individuals; fatalism; gender and class processes; sectoral production and consumption cleavages. The authors conclude that class is still crucial in structuring economic, political and social life.
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